Chris Christner
Twenty-plus years of experience as Director of Marketing Communication (MarCom), preceded by two years as an award-winning Principal Writer/Project Team Leader and 15 years as a technical writer/graphic designer in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
As Director of MarCom, I was responsible for corporate communications that included technical publications, website design and content, advertising, logo design, and trade show collateral and graphics. To accomplish this, I managed graphic artists and technical writers (although for the last few years, I ran things single-handedly) as we worked with product marketing managers, engineers, and the VP of Sales.
Experience
Director of Marketing Communications
Director of the Marketing Communications department with a staff that for several years consisted of two graphics artists, two technical writers, and interns. As a result of my wide experience in technical fields, I did more for Patton than managing, such as completely redesigning the 30-year-old Patton website layout for responsive design to accommodate mobile and tablet devices. I was the technical writer—creating manuals and quick start guides that are compliant to IEEE-ISO 82079-1:2019, ANSI Z535.1-2017, and ANSI Z535.6-2011 (R2017)—trade show organizer, and product labeling designer, among many other things. Responsibilities included creating Patton’s Product Line Catalog, designing the website and maintaining its content, writing solutions guides, mass mailing postcards, magazine advertisements, and trade show graphics.
The Patton website and examples of manuals, datasheets, and brochures can be viewed at www.patton.com.
July 1999–April 2022
Freelancer
As principal of TopTechWriter.US in Frederick, Maryland (previously doing business as Promenade Publications until I changed the name to one that made a better web address), I worked on projects for clients that included home security system installation and operation, DataCatch system installation and operation, home theater system installation, and CarMax installation documentation for Patapsco Designs of Frederick, Maryland; datasheets, newsletters and other collateral for Patton Electronics Co. and IT Enclosures of Gaithersburg, Maryland; brochures for Young Life of Frederick, Maryland and the Montgomery County Public Libraries; and newsletters for the Friends of the Library of Montgomery County, Maryland.
May 1992–March 2009
Principal Technical Writer
Worked as a team leader on projects where I was the primary point of contact between project personnel and the other technical writers assigned to write the documentation. I supervised the development of large sets (more than 20 volumes) of user documentation for global satellite/cellular communications systems. Responsibilities included developing and updating project plans, Gantt timelines, and cost-to-complete budget estimates using Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Project.
February 1997–July 1999
Senior Technical Writer
I wrote and illustrated technical manuals, proposals, and marketing literature. The technical manuals included installation, operation, and maintenance manuals for DirecTV systems, DirecPC and DirecDuo hybrid Internet satellite systems, MobileSat global satellite/cellular systems, satellite earth stations, digital-cellular phone systems, and air-to-ground phone networks. Many of the manuals I created received awards at the International and Washington DC chapters of Society for Technical Communications Technical Publications/Art Competitions.
May 1989–February 1997
Freelancer
Worked as a contractor writing, editing, and illustrating proposals.
April 1989–May 1989
Senior Technical Writer
I wrote technical manuals describing installation, operation and maintenance of array processors. Other responsibilities included writing and editing proposals, creating presentation graphics for the Marketing department, artist’s conceptions of new products for the Engineering department, and writing the Publications department’s style guide.
November 1986–April 1989
Freelancer
I wrote a technical reference manual for a point-of-sale computer system prototype built by TWIX.
July 1986–December 1987
Senior Technical Writer
While working on the Communications Restoral System program, I wrote 68000-series military-standard compliant operations and maintenance manuals for a mobile communications system and an automated data processing system.
Additional job responsibilities included conducting technical manual validation and verification meetings and evaluating commercial technical manuals to verify accordance with military standard MIL-M-7298C.
My Top Secret clearance was modified to include the counterintelligence polygraph examination for access to sensitive compartmented information administered at the NSA.
June 1984–November 1986
Field Engineer
I worked on the Saudi Naval Expansion program in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia installing and maintaining Swiss-manufactured cryptographic hardware for teletype, voice, and digital data signal encryption/decryption.
May 1982–June 1984
Senior Electronics Technician
I maintained computer equipment used on the Automated Document Storage and Retrieval program at the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters building. After an extended background investigation and polygraph, I was granted a Top Secret security clearance.
April 1980–May 1982
Skills
Indeed Skills Assessments
| Skill | Expert | Highly Proficient | Proficient |
| Attention to detail | ● | ||
| Mechanical knowledge | ● | ||
| Proofreading | ● | ||
| Written communication | ● | ||
| Graphic design | ● | ||
| Sales skills | ● | ||
| Verbal communication | ● | ||
| Customer focus & orientation | ● | ||
| Social media | ● | ||
| Typing | ● |
LinkedIn Skills Assessments and Endorsements
| Skill | Category | Assessment Result | Endorsement |
| Microsoft Word | Tools & Technologies | Awarded a badge for standing in the top 30% of 7.5 million people who took the test. | ● |
| Adobe Illustrator | Tools & Technologies | Haven't taken the test | ● |
| Adobe Photoshop | Tools & Technologies | Awarded a badge for standing in the top 15% of 2.6 million people who took the test. | ● |
| Graphic Design | Industry Knowledge | No assessment test available | ● |
| Technical Writing | Industry Knowledge | No assessment test available | ● |
| Graphics | Industry Knowledge | No assessment test available | ● |
| Team Leadership | Interpersonal Skills | No assessment test available | ● |
| Communication | Interpersonal Skills | No assessment test available | ● |
| Leadership | Interpersonal Skills | No assessment test available | ● |
Portfolio
Portfolio samples are provided as examples of my design, writing, and illustrating skills. Unless otherwise noted, I designed the layout and created the content for all samples based on input from subject-matter experts:
Awards
Received the following regional and international awards from Society for Technical Communication (STC) competitions (see STC Awards Definitions for more details):
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Merit Award for Technical Art 1997 International Technical Art Competition from The Society for Technical Communication for the Digital Satellite System Satellite Receiver Owner’s Guide View the guide |
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Excellence Award for Manual Design 1996–1997 Technical Art Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the Digital Satellite System Satellite Receiver Owner’s Guide View judges’ comments • View the guide |
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Merit Award for Technical Publication 1996–1997 Technical Publications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the Digital Satellite System Satellite Receiver Owner’s Guide View the guide |
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Achievement Award for Package Design 1996 International Technical Publications and Art Competition from The Society for Technical Communication for the DirecPC Satellite Access Card Box View the drawing |
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Distinguished Technical Communication Award for Art 1995–1996 Technical Publications, Art, and Online Communications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the DirecPC Satellite Access Card Box View the drawing |
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Merit Award for Technical Publication 1995–1996 Technical Publications, Art, and Online Communications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the DirecPC Access Kit User Guide View the guide |
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Achievement Award for Technical Publication 1994 International Technical Publications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication for the Claircom Air Terminal Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Manual View the manual |
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Distinguished Technical Communication Award for Technical Publication 1993–1994 Technical Publications and Art Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the Claircom Air Terminal Installation, Operation, and Maintenance Manual View judges’ comments • View the manual |
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Merit Award for Technical Publication 1990–1991 Technical Communications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the SkyRider Remote Pager Installation Manual |
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Merit Award for Technical Publication 1990–1991 Technical Communications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the SkyRider 2901-2C MDT Vehicle Motion Detection Kit Installation Manual |
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Achievement Award for Technical Publication 1990–1991 Technical Communications Competition from The Society for Technical Communication, Washington, DC Chapter for the SkyRider Installation Guide |
Interests
Besides being an avid reader and a hobbyist photographer, I volunteer my time to be the official photographer at events for the Greater Washington, DC/Virginia/Maryland Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (CCFA), and do fun projects in Adobe Photoshop that include colorizing vintage black-and-white photos; creating poster, CD, and other artwork for musicians; and composing images using NASA photos.
Volunteering with the CCFA
Take Steps for Crohn’s and Colitis is the main annual fundraising event for CCFA.
Click on an image thumbnail in the gallery to display the larger version.
Spin4 Cures is a growing nationwide movement to raise funds and increase awareness of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Fun with Photoshop
I've included the original photos or links to them so you can compare the before and after images.
Click on an image thumbnail in the gallery to display the larger version.
Original photo is in Boston Public Library Collection
Original photo is in Boston Public Library Collection
Over the years, I've created band photos, album/CD/digital music covers, business cards, and YouTube video cover images for musicians. My favorite of those projects was the image I created for The Pattons band for their 2010 performances. The band was headed up by Bobby Patton (CEO), and Burt Patton (Vice President of Sales) of Patton Electronics. For the 2010 project, they wanted an image that highlighted their dual personalities: by day they wore ties and did business, but by night (and on weekends) they still knew how to play rock-and-roll.
To get the concept across, I photographed the band wearing ties in front of a wall, then took a “mirror image” photo of them wearing casual clothes. Unfortunately I've lost those original photos, but the images above are from the same photo shoot.
Compositing The Pattons band image: The band members were extracted from the original photos and posed so the tie-wearing version in the window reflection mirrored the casual version. The red line helped me maintain the proper height perspective.
The finished image shows the band posed in front of a cafe with a street scene reflected in its windows (all of which was created in Photoshop).
One of the band’s flyers
Where appropriate, I've included links to the original photos so you can compare the before and after images.
