Recently honored as Ankrom Moisan’s first-ever Design Champion through the new AM Rewards & Recognition program, Filo Canseco goes above and beyond, pushing the boundaries of graphic design by putting part of himself into his work.
Filo’s Design Champion Banner.
Filo became interested in design at an early age. Coming from a creative family, he was naturally attracted to anything related to art and design, often taking up the modes of expression shared with him by his relatives. “My uncle Aaron, who is an illustrator, introduced me to graphite and chalk early on in my childhood. Similarly, my aunts embroidered, so I learned embroidery,” Filo shared. It wasn’t until later that he realized why his family were passing on their creative abilities. “They knew that because of our family’s immigrations status at the time, having recently become naturalized citizens, they had missed their opportunity to pursue the arts. I was the only one who had a chance of pursuing design in college and as a career.”
Interested in animation and the process of making illustrations come to life, Filo applied to The Art Institute of Portland after high school. He wasn’t accepted at the time, which was “devastating,” but something he’s glad about now. Despite not immediately applying to a college design program again, Filo pursued his passion for design wherever he could. “I created business cards and websites for friends’ small businesses, designed posters for friends in bands, and later picked up photography and videography,” he said. Though he was immersed in creating unique one-of-a-kind designs for friends, he felt that his lack of technical knowledge meant he didn’t qualify as a true graphic designer. “I designed my entire brand identity in Photoshop without knowing much about Adobe’s software. It wasn’t until a friend suggested I start charging for my design services that I considered this as a potential career.”
Filo saw his opportunity to follow his dream and practice design and took it. When he returned to higher education nine years later, it was confirmation that a career in graphic design was indeed meant for him. Even though he already had some experience under his belt, learning the ins and outs of design in an academic setting changed his perspective on his process. “I was captivated by the fundamentals of graphic design, graphic design history, hand-lettering, pottery, digital graphic design, and all its multifaceted realms,” Filo said. “We learned design, we learned what the great classical artists were thinking and feeling, then we broke down their designs to be put back together with a little piece of ourselves in there. That was huge for me. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I feel that change in approach is what keeps me producing innovative work.”
Filo at his desk in the Portland office.
When Filo first started at Ankrom Moisan after graduating from Portland State University in 2022, it was during the pandemic, before AM’s offices instated a two day per week in-person requirement. Because of this, Filo only met a handful of people after starting. “I might have seen Juan Conci or Fernando Abba, our Visualization Managers, once or twice,” he recalled. “It was very lonely. There was nobody in the office. Everything was through Teams meetings.”
Looking back, Filo believes that this slow introduction to the world of Ankrom Moisan worked in his favor. “I was fresh and brand new not only to an architecture firm, but also to having a graphic design job. Pandemic distancing and remote work gradually got me into Ankrom Moisan’s firm culture and what my role was.” He feels lucky to have been able to meet people one at a time, as it gave him a better chance to form connections with new coworkers and assimilate to a new industry than if he had met everyone all at once.
Being able to integrate into AM’s work culture at his own pace deeply influenced how Filo takes a project’s design direction and turns it into an effective deliverable that resonates with the company’s culture and wins new projects.
Filo’s design work for the ‘Women Rising’ DEIB campaign
Over the past two years, Filo and his eye for design have grown considerably. He’s grown accustomed to taking the lead on design campaigns, and the responsibility that comes with it, thanks in part to Ankrom Moisan’s unique structure and system of support. “I don’t think I would have grown as fast as I did if Ankrom Moisan’s work culture wasn’t so well established. If I had my first job at a popular downtown design firm, I would have had to go through a lot more hierarchy to get where I am today,” he remarked. “I would have been forced into the box of ‘junior graphic designer,’ and wouldn’t have had the opportunity to grow and realize that I have a lot more capabilities than that.”
Growing into his new capabilities, Filo realized that one of his favorite parts of doing graphic design at Ankrom Moisan is the glowing feedback he often receives after completing a deliverable. “It feels so rewarding to do so much with such a small team,” Filo expressed. “People will come to us and ask what external team we hired, and it’s just like ‘no, we’re just a group of three people taking Ankrom Moisan’s supportive culture and producing this collateral.'” For this reason, the DEIB people-centered campaigns have been a favorite of Filo’s. “These campaigns have really projected me into a space where I can be a graphic designer as well as a creative lead.”
Filo with Emily Lamunyan and Dani Murphy behind the scenes of the AMasterclass DEIB campaign.
When he found out about his recognition as Design Champion, Filo didn’t know how to react. “I didn’t know our president, Dave, would make a video response. I was completely blown away and had to take a moment to really let it sink in,” he said. It was a bit of a surprise. “I found out in a Teams meeting. It was a little awkward finding out and then making my own poster,” he joked. “I guess it had to happen though, since I’m the one doing graphics; there was no way of having somebody else make it.”
Filo’s Design Champion nomination video.
Recognized in his nomination video by President Dave Heater, Vice President Alissa Brandt, Director of Marketing Emily Lamunyan, and Visualization Manager Juan Conci for his willingness to step outside of his comfort zone as well as for his game-changing design work that gives Ankrom Moisan a competitive advantage, Filo shared just how and why his graphic design efforts have had such a big impact on the firm. “Feeling like I can reach out to anyone on the marketing team at any point to get feedback is just golden. I haven’t experienced that with any other job.” Aside from his team’s support, Filo can produce such stellar graphics, putting part of himself into his designs, because of his working process. “My process is about staying curious to ensure the final design is innovative and cutting-edge, not formulaic,” he explained. “I’ve been fortunate to have an innately curious personality. I didn’t realize it until recently, but it’s what helps me out of my comfort zone, allowing me to integrate my lived experience into my designs.”
Filo’s promotional work for the Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebration DEIB campaign.
As one of the first Ankrom Moisan employees to be celebrated through the new Rewards & Recognition program, Filo has high hopes for the future of the program. “I hope and envision that the rewards and recognition program transcends Ankrom Moisan. It’s a great way to show how important and strong our culture is here,” Filo said. “I also hope future champions see the acknowledgement as a milestone and an opportunity to reflect on their career. Being recognized made me step away from work and life and realize how I’ve changed as a professional.”
Reflecting on advice for emerging young professionals in the field of graphic design, Filo had this to offer. “You’ve done the hard work when it comes to learning and educating yourself. Now that you’ve graduated, take it slow. Have fun. I know it sounds cheesy since it’s one of our HOWs, but having fun with what we do is super important to creating balance.” He also emphasized that “making mistakes, as well as connections, is ultimately what helps you get to know your team and everyone else at the firm.”
Taking his Design Champion recognition as a chance to look back at his career, Filo reflected on how everything he learned from his family, high school, gap years, and time at PSU has led him to this moment. “Being a graphic designer has always been my goal, but I now see new opportunities to become much more,” he revealed. “I see myself in a role where I can share my experiences – perhaps as a mentor, a supervisor, or a director. Who knows!” Right now, Filo’s focus is on just enjoying his moment. It’s more than deserved.
Employee Spotlight: Amanda Lunger
Amanda Lunger wears many hats and has lived just as many lives. Recently, she was promoted to the role of Sustainability Advocate. Reflecting on her journey to this new position, Amanda sat down to discuss sustainability, career advice, and how her final studio project at the University of Oregon – a passive house affordable housing project – led to her being recruited to work at Ankrom Moisan.
Amanda outside of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Q: You were recently promoted to a sustainability role within the practice team. What can you tell me about that?
A: Well, we’ve had different groups in the office before to try and push sustainability initiatives and ensure there is adequate education about the topic, but now we’re taking the extra step of having a dedicated role that’s responsible for setting and executing goals and initiatives related to the sustainability of the firm. In this sense, I work in an overhead capacity to develop internal processes and education opportunities to further our sustainability efforts, and then also support projects as the need arises. It entails helping people set sustainability goals, research different technologies, and assisting with the selection of appropriate sustainability certification programs for projects. Eventually, I’ll assist with business development, telling the story of Ankrom Moisan’s sustainability expertise on our website and in RFPs, helping designers feel prepared to talk to clients about sustainability.
Q: What does sustainability mean to you?
A: I think to me, sustainability is recognizing the interconnectedness of all the decisions that we make as humans and understanding that those decisions have implications for all the other living things on this planet, as well as for future generations and even our future selves. Personally, my values and beliefs around sustainability are inherently tied to my spiritual beliefs, because I believe that all life has intrinsic value and that we have a moral obligation to look out for the wellbeing of all living things on this planet.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish in your new role?
A: I hope to help create and push forward a culture at Ankrom Moisan where sustainability is just part of everything we do. Many different things might have to happen to get us there, but if Ankrom Moisan can be known as a firm with expertise in sustainability, and if our staff can really feel that, then that’s a good sign of success to me.
Luckily, firm leadership has decided that this is the year to really start prioritizing sustainability. I am so excited to be a part of that effort and to help with that push while we have the momentum and support of leadership. It feels like a good time to be stepping into this role.
Q: Aside from sustainability-driven efforts, what is your favorite type of work to do? Why?
A: I really love the work I’ve done here at Ankrom Moisan with our mission-driven nonprofits. Specifically, working on affordable housing with REACH has been very rewarding because I really respect the mission of those clients. What they’re trying to do is better the lives of the people they serve.
I also enjoyed being in more of an overhead support position with the transition to BIM, and now again with my new sustainability role. I’ve realized over the course of my career that I get the greatest fulfillment from helping my coworkers and making their lives easier. I feel very appreciated in those kinds of support roles – they’re what I enjoy most.
Q: How long have you been at Ankrom Moisan?
A: I’m a boomerang employee. Initially, I worked here for two years – from 2013 to 2015 – as an architect, but then left Ankrom Moisan to work at a few other offices. I came back in February of 2019 to work as a BIM specialist because I wanted to make a lateral switch in my career. For this go around, I guess I’ve been here a full five years. I’m entering my sixth year.
Q: What brought you here?
A: This is a fun story. So, I was at the University of Oregon in my final year of the architecture program. I was doing a terminal studio, which encourages students to focus their final project on an area that’s of special interest to them. At the time I had gotten really into sustainability and passive house because of one of my professors, Professor Alison Kwok. I went through a whole intensive passive house training program and got my Certified Passive House Consultant Accreditation (CPHC). For my final studio, I was looking specifically at the applicability of passive house to affordable housing and how mission-driven nonprofits could really benefit from the deep energy savings of passive house, since they’d be able to save money on building operations and funnel those funds back into their programs for clients and the people who live in their buildings. So that’s what I designed. I picked a site in San Francisco and a fake client – a nonprofit affordable housing developer – and I ran an energy model on it, demonstrating how it could meet the passive house standard.
Isaac Johnson ended up being one of my reviewers during my final review. I was really interested in Ankrom Moisan at the time because of the work the firm was doing with affordable housing. Well, after graduation I was working with another firm when I got a call out of the blue from Isaac Johnson. He said something like “Hey, so I remember reviewing your final studio project, and we basically have that project at Ankrom Moisan now. Do you want to come work for us?” He was talking about Orchards at Orenco which is a REACH Development affordable housing project that was pursuing passive house standards, so obviously I said yes. It was really cool coming out of college and working on a project with the exact same sustainability goals that I was passionate about.
Orchards at Orenco.
Q: What was it like when you first started out?
A: We were still on Macadam. It wasn’t the nice office we have now. I remember it felt a little more hodgepodge, but also like there were distinct families within the office. I worked in the basement – there were very few of us down there. We had our own kitchen and conference room; it was like our whole world. It was a very tight-knit group of people because of that. A lot of the young professionals were also recent college graduates like me. It was really nice having that community to commiserate with and co-mentor together.
I was part of two distinct families. There was Jeff Hamilton’s team in the basement, and then there was the recent college graduate family that was spread across different project types. Elisa Zenk and Stephanie Hollar started around the same time I did and were part of that cohort. We became really close friends, along with Elisa’s now-husband who was also part of that cohort. It was a cool way to learn about stuff that was happening across the office, because Elisa would be working on student housing, Tim on something else, and Will on something completely different as well. It made us feel more connected to the firm.
There were also a lot of recreation opportunities. We had a volleyball team; we would play soccer during lunchtime out at the park. It was a great community.
Amanda with Elisa Zenk and Stephanie Hollar on the rooftop of Ankrom Moisan’s Portland office.
Q: Since starting here, how have you grown professionally?
A: My biggest area of growth has been figuring out how to collaborate with other people. You can’t just rely on yourself. You have to work with other people if you want the best results. Knowing your coworkers’ talents and who to reach out to is a very soft skill that nobody really talks about, but I think it’s so critical to the success of the work that we do. As buildings get more complex and we want to use more and more data to inform our designs, having good collaboration becomes all that much more important.
Q: Since you started here, what has the biggest change in the firm or industry been?
A: It has to be the COVID-19 pandemic. That changed the way we work and the way that we collaborate. It also changed the culture of the firm a bit. I think one of the good things that come out of it is that there’s a greater understanding of work-life balance and mental health, and a greater awareness that those things should be prioritized. Sometimes it can feel like the division between work and home doesn’t exist as much, but I think in general, we’re just more flexible about how we work.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about working here?
A: My favorite thing about working at Ankrom Moisan is the people. I’ve found the across the board, in all echelons and experience levels, in all project types and studios, we just have great people. There’s so much support from everyone, not only because of what you can do professionally, but also just because of who you are as an individual. The people I’ve worked with have been excellent coworkers who take a personal interest in you.
Q: What inspires you?
A: It’s definitely nature. I know that sounds cliché, but you won’t find any better designs that what is found in nature. Any system you’re trying to optimize has been done in nature.
My favorite natural space is probably Milo McIver State Park on the Clackamas River. My husband and I are avid disc golfers, which is probably one of the reasons I love that place so much. It’s so lush and green and has such tall trees. There’s also the river there, which is very pretty. It’s so cool to see how the flow of the Clackamas changes seasonally.
Milo McIver State Park throughout the seasons.
Q: What advice do you have for young professionals who are just starting out in their careers?
A: Don’t isolate yourself. Find your tribe. Find your support system of both other young professionals and more experienced people who you can learn from. It makes a huge difference. It helps keep you motivated and wanting to improve yourself. It also helps with mental and emotional health, knowing that you have a support person who you can grab coffee with or step outside to talk about the rough day you’re having.
Get in the habit of taking a personal interest in getting to know your coworkers. Don’t be that person who looks the other direction when you’re walking down the hallway who tries to avoid saying hello. If you’re genuinely interested in your coworkers, it’s a lot easier to pick up the phone and call them about something or send them a random message on Teams. It can even become something that you look forward to if you have coworkers that you enjoy chatting with.
Lastly, I would say, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Nobody is expecting you to be an expert. Take advantage of that by asking questions and learning from people.
By Jack Cochran, Marketing Coordinator
Getting Involved in the Interior Design Industry
Three members of our interiors department, Roberta Pennington, Clare Goddard and Jessica Kirshner, discuss their experience with the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and how their involvement in the organization has propelled their professional careers.
Left to right: Jessica Kirshner, Maddy Gorman, Clare Goddard, Roberta Pennington, and Jenna Mogstad at an IIDA event
Q: What’s your experience with IIDA? How were you involved?
Roberta: I have been an IIDA member since graduating (the second time) in 2001. My first event was an awards breakfast at the Governor Hotel in PDX also in 2001; I didn’t know anyone, but the Members were super friendly and welcoming.
I attended MANY events consequently then stepped up my volunteer time to the Board in 2009. I dove into the President Elect role during a time when Members, including myself, did not have jobs. IIDA gave me the stability and connection I was missing during the year I was unemployed.
After my Presidency, I stayed on as a Chapter Advisor and most recently came back to serve on the Board with the Advocacy team. I’ve been involved in one way or another with finding legal recognition for commercial interior design in Oregon since 2003, and I want to continue to be a part of the momentum gaining speed nationally. It’s an exciting time for interior designers on the legal front.
Clare: I have been involved on the board for a little under 5 years (started October of 2018) first as the VP of Communications and then moved into President-Elect/President/Past President roles.
Jessica: I started with IIDA in college, I was on the student board as the fundraising chair. Once I graduated and was hired on full time at AM, I joined the Oregon Chapter Board as the Director of Social Media and I have held this position for the past 2 years.
Q: How did membership in IIDA benefit you professionally?
Roberta: Networking! I can go anywhere locally and nationally, and a complete network of design leaders are available to tap.
I became much more active during the Recession in 2009 when I stepped up to be President-Elect. The network of people on the Board were instrumental in getting my name to the top of a list of persons to hire when firms were not hiring. I’m very grateful to this group.
I also got to know women in the profession who were and still are my mentors and friends. Their experiences showed me having a child does not mean the end of my career. Women don’t have to “act like a man” to be taken serious. Speaking my mind does not make me a “bitch.” AND: I’m a very entertaining public speaker. Very liberating.
Clare: Prior to joining the board (and when I was in San Diego), I credit IIDA with connecting me to potential employers and creating a sense of community in a city where I knew no one. Joining the board here in Oregon has greatly improved my leadership and delegation skills. It has also helped me to create a sense of community here in Portland, beyond AM. I consider it a privilege to have served this design community on the board in helping to be the face of interior design for the state of Oregon. Being part of the board, in any capacity, is how I give back to the profession that I am so passionate about.
Jessica: I have been able to attend countless events that have both inspired me and helped me professionally. These ranged from forums to socials. Each event hitting on a different and important topic in our industry. It has also been a great networking opportunity that has allowed me to connect with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Q: What’s your most memorable moment from your time in IIDA?
Roberta: A standing ovation at the Annual Celebration 2010 at Ziba. I delivered my incoming President speech. I wasn’t sure I was coming in with the right message; that being “We’re not dead; we will get thru this Recession somehow.” When the room of people stood up, clapped, and cheered, I knew I was going to be okay. The CEO of IIDA National was there and told me she would never go on after me again. A real head-swelling moment.
Clare: That has to be the CLCs (Chapter Leaders Conferences) held in Chicago and regionally. I love getting to connect with leaders from other chapters across the US! It was amazing to learn from others and to make new friends. The CLCs will be what I miss the most post-presidency.
Jessica: I don’t necessarily have a specific moment but getting to serve on board with such amazing people has been so motivating. It’s helped me to grow in so many ways. I’m so thankful to have been on the board.
Q: How did AM support your involvement?
Roberta: In my Board involvement, AM has reimbursed annual dues as well as allocated time for volunteering. My current role as VP of Advocacy means I’m spending time meeting with committees, legislators, consultants, and peers often. I can keep my PTO for actual vacation time.
AM has also been an annual sponsor to the Chapter every year an employee has served on the Board. That sponsorship is instrumental in keeping the Chapter going.
Leadership has also written letters to legislators during recent pushes for legal recognition of interior design. This small act shows the value AM places on my education, experience, the NCIDQ, and what I bring to the table as a commercial interior designer.
Clare: AM is one of the more supportive firms in the state. They not only encourage employees to be on the board, but back up that support by paying for IIDA membership and providing 2 paid hours per week for board tasks for those serving on the board. I count myself very lucky to have such a supportive firm.
Also, I think because of that support, Ankrom has had consistently the highest number of people serving on the board (this past year, there were five AM’ers on the board). We always joke that House Ankrom is taking over. Additionally, not only has AM supported individual board members, but they have also lent us the office for multiple board retreats and board events.
Jessica: AM was completely supportive throughout my time on the board, as well as everyone else in the interiors department who was on the board. The interiors leadership team encouraged us to attend IIDA meetings and events and would even show up to events in support.
