Kristen Morris, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Design and Merchandising
Colorado State University
Office: 201J Nancy Richardson Design Center
Mailing: 1574 Campus Delivery
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80528
E-mail: kristen.morris@colostate.edu
Education
PhD, Cornell University; MS, Colorado State University; BS Colorado State University.
Bio
Dr. Kristen Morris is an Assistant Professor at Colorado State University in the department of Design and Merchandising. She received her Bachelor of Science in Apparel Design at Colorado State University, and worked as the creative and technical designer for two start-up activewear companies in Denver. During that time, she also worked as a full-time graphic designer for a sporting goods company before going back to Colorado State to receive her MS. She received her PhD from Cornell University where she helped develop a National Science Foundation supported youth program aimed at engaging girls in STEM through functional apparel design. From 2015-2019, Kristen was an Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri in the department of Textile and Apparel Management.
Research Interests
Dr. Morris’s main research interest is focused on exploring ways to enhance the performance and aesthetics of functional garments through a collaborative product development process. Her research addresses the viability of incorporating users into the design of their own products through participatory design methods where the goal is to create commercially viable, culturally relevant, and societally valuable functional apparel designs. She believes that by studying the context within which the garment will be worn with the people who will wear them, we can align, apply, and develop innovative apparel technologies and methodologies to address human needs. Her research addresses exceptional, identifiable, and quantifiable user needs within the apparel product development process, focusing on the requirements of complex target populations that range from athletes to astronauts.
“The research itself provides an important long-run perspective on the issues that we face on a day-to-day basis.”
Become a collaborator
I am always on the hunt for industry, research, and consumer partners!
If you have a project idea, or one of my projects posted in this portfolio peaks you interest, please fill out the form below and I will get back to you.