Students in the advertising methods class toured the fire company and met with fire fighters — a real-life opportunity to connect with the client.

Designing for first responders

Article by Megan M.F. Everhart Photos courtesy of Bill Starkey April 22, 2026

UD students partner with the Christina Fire Company to promote awareness and increase volunteerism

Senior visual communications major Joycelyn Brown is used to working with briefs — imaginary scenarios students use to create PR or ad campaigns — for assignments, so she was surprised to learn that her ART322: Advertising Methods class would be working with a real client on a real project.

“It was so different,” she said. “We took a trip to the fire company and got to talk to firefighters and EMS workers and ask a ton of questions. They actually cooked us food in the firehouse, which was cool.”

Christiana Fire Company is a combination fire company, composed of both career and volunteer firefighters.

It is the busiest combination fire company in the state, and one of the busiest in the country, answering more than 16,600 fire and ambulance calls each year.

The company is so busy that professional firefighters from cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore spend free time volunteering with Christiana to gain experience.

Christiana Fire Company president Keith Simpkins contacted UD for help building the company’s reputation among Delawareans and recruiting quality volunteer firefighters, a challenge that students were happy to accept.

“Our goal was to develop a platform we could use for both recruitment efforts and to support an updated approach when communicating our funding needs to the public,” he said.

Teams produced deliverables like t-shirts, hats and even tattoo designs. Amy Deo, Alli Petrin and Genveva Laur reimagined an existing skull logo with stylized numbers.

Bill Starkey, who teaches ART322 for the Department of Art and Design, agreed, because this is the exact kind of project that an advertising agency would get from a client.

“It gave the students real-world pressure, with the same ups and downs and a lot of moving parts,” he said. “Plus, it is helping the community in Delaware.”

Putting the pieces together

Students in the class, who are usually senior art and design majors in one of the program's three tracks: art, fine art or visual communications, synthesize previous coursework in design, research, copywriting, strategy and presentation in group projects.

“It was nice to take the skills that we’ve learned, like process work and presentation work, and design work in general, and put it into one project,” said Amy Deo, a senior visual communications major.

Starkey divided the class into five groups of three students. Each team functioned like an agency, with members working on individual aspects like illustration, copywriting, mockups, social media assets and presentation design.

Joycelyn Brown, Chelsea Dao and Haley Lisiecki focused on the motto “Built for the Call,” emphasizing the company’s dedication.

The tasks were familiar, but the impact and sense of responsibility were a new experience for the students.

“Usually we’re making things up on our own, or it’s for a big brand that is never going to actually see it,” Brown said. “Working with an actual client and their brand was important.”

Simpkins explained that, like any brand, the fire company must continually communicate its message in a way that is impactful without becoming repetitive.

“The students really brought their creativity together to produce excellent content,” he said.

Identifying what matters

After meeting with firefighters and learning what matters to them about their job, each team identified a central insight to anchor their campaign.

“The firefighters and first responders are living by an ethos. The students' job was to translate that ethos to resonate with recruits,” Starkey said.

Firefighters invited the class to enjoy dinner in the fire house.

Brown’s team identified the motto “Built for the Call,” highlighting the company’s dedicated members who are always ready to serve. Deliverables like t-shirts, magnets and stickers incorporated a fire serpent graphic and the numbers 12, 6 and 3 - representing the company’s three fire stations.

Deo’s team reimagined an existing skull logo with stylized numbers in items like hoodies, temporary tattoos, flags and a wall mural, all emphasizing the word “prevail,” and the company’s pride and work ethic.

The work was gratifying and gave students valuable samples of their work as they prepare to head into the workforce.

Deo explained that Starkey ensured the students had something to be proud of.

“He makes it a point to make sure that every project is well rounded enough to be a portfolio piece. You get a lot of experience in this class, but you also do good work,” she said.

Joycelyn Brown, Chelsea Dao and Haley Lisiecki present their campaign to fire company president Keith Simpkins.

The presentation

Presenting their ideas to a real client was a first-time, nervewracking experience for most of the students.

“It was honestly a lot more relaxed than I thought it would be,” Deo said. “The chief was super chill, and he loved everything we were doing.”

Learning to present a campaign is a skill in and of itself. Not only do the deliverables have to be solid, you have to present them in a cohesive way that tells the client the story.

“People don’t always realize that there is a lot we convey,” Deo said. “We explain the problem and our solution to it. And it might be weird if you jump from a t-shirt to a computer screen back to a hat.”

And like in the industry, the teams didn’t know what the other groups were developing.

Simpkins loved each presentation.

“Bill and the class absolutely hit the mark,” he said.

The company is still working on the difficult task of choosing which campaign to move forward with. Don’t be surprised to see UD students’ work around the state soon.