CHRISTINA HAGOPIAN
After surviving 10 rounds of layoffs at Razorfish, Christina Hagopian found herself among the growing ranks of pink-slip holders in 2002. It was a slow market for designers, and she saw many of her peers struggle with the job market. But the 20-something creative had already been toying with the idea of starting her own business, so she was in a better position than most to take advantage of the situation. “I was ready,” she says. “I had already bought equipment and I had paid off all my debts.”

Hagopian decamped from the city to a family house on Cape Cod. The move gave her some financial breathing room as she built up her client list, and the perfect atmosphere for examining her long-term goals. Today she works in New York City under the banner hagopian ink.—a full-service firm that specializes in work for the luxury, beauty, and wellness segments. She’s done everything from websites for major cosmetic companies to identity systems for small businesses.

With a take-charge, outgoing personality, Hagopian’s built her business through hard work and tenacity. “I always say I’m the queen of networking,” she says. “Almost every job I’ve ever won is through my circle of friends and colleagues. When you have your own business, you’re selling yourself in a way. You have to be your own advocate.” She readily admits that she makes a much better business owner than an employee and loves the idea of being in charge of her own future.

Success, however, hasn’t come without a few learning curves. Hagopian is constantly working to improve her business acumen and make every project better than the last. Right now she’s taking a marketing class and working with a career coach. The latter gives her a fresh perspective and helps her figure out where to make changes. In the past year, for example, she’s instituted de-plug Fridays. At noon, she steps away from the computer and goes to a museum or on a walk to recharge her creative batteries.

The designer has also discovered that she needs to make room for personal creative projects. She took a watercolor class over the summer and designed her own line of greeting cards inspired by Cape Cod. The cards are gorgeous, understated letterpress creations sold at inns and gifts shops at the popular vacation spot. These kinds of ventures provide a perfect complement to client work. As her company evolves, Hagopian is constantly looking to retool and improve her business practices and design skills. She enjoys working with a mix of small and large clients and hand-tailoring solutions for every project. But no matter what she tackles next, everything comes back to her company tagline: the art of visualizing ideas.

TOP: These Cape Cod Letterpress greeting cards are one of Hagopian's personal creative projects. LEFT: An identity system for ALEXIS CLASSICS, a luxury handbag collection. RIGHT: Hagopian's design for shopvogue.com, an advertising e-commerce webiste.