Her Story
About Christen
Christen Morton is a creative manager and graphic designer specializing in graphic design and proposal management within the AEC industry. She earned a bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in graphic design from Lee University. Morton began her career at Austin Commercial, where she spent five to six years leading proposals and large pursuits before transitioning to the creative manager role for her final two and a half years, focusing on design standards, QAQC, and complex graphic requests. She recently moved to PDK Architects, where her work centers on brand development, standards, and templates. Morton holds a Graphic Design Specialization Certificate from the California Institute of Arts and is a member of the Association of Professional Women in Construction. She attributes her professional growth to a sink-or-swim mentality that required rapid learning through hands-on experience, and she values owning her work to produce creative results. Outside her professional life, Morton and her husband lead volunteer initiatives at their church supporting Frisco Family Services.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would probably say a sink or swim mentality. On my last role I had to learn very quick. It was a lot of learning through experience, learning through doing. You either have to learn how to do it or learn how to excel or else you'll sink. Meeting high expectations and having the support to do so grew me a lot in the first few years of my career.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't be afraid to try new things. Own your work. For always your first draft make it your own. Own your work. It's your product. It's your deliverable. You can get feedback after the fact but when you own your work and you take pride in it and you see it as something is yours not something you're doing for someone else that's whenever you'll produce some of your best work and really the new and most creative innovative ideas come about.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.