Hello! I'm Lane Lieberman, a student-artist-athlete originally from Washington, D.C. At SCAD, I have developed a background in graphic design, advertising and branding, and recently found a passion for exploring UX and motion design. I came to SCAD interested in the intersection of business and art. I hope to pursue a master's in service design–a field that will allow me to combine my visual design background with my problem-solving interests.
This excursion has served as a great way to develop more background on consumer, public relations, and business marketing strategies. Having the chance to explore these strategies through first-hand experience in England, France, and Italy was an amazing way to improve my networking skills and helped me connect my creative side with the business world.
Hello
My name is Lane
Rome:
Day in my Life
Follow along with me from every part of my day from eating breakfast, to ending the night with an Italian cooking class!
Lanecoste
Lanecoste= Live, laugh, and a little bit of Lane in Lacoste ;)
Enjoy a recap of the entire Lacoste experience from SCAD Lacoste campus insights to excursions to art caves in Provence!
Re-wind (to Re UK)
One of the most memorable shopping districts on the trip for me was Carnaby Street in London. Even just driving by, the storefront signs to decorated lights lining the streets catch your eye. We got to see Carnaby street during the holidays, which was a unique experience. Also, having the chance to explore the area during the day versus at night gave me an interesting perspective. As a pedestrian shopping area, Carnaby is filled with dozens of fashion retailers, local boutiques, restaurants, and coffee shops. A big hit for our group was Pleasing, a pop-up store from Harry Styles. Pleasing had a line out the door, and the shopping area was buzzing with people. Spending the day shopping at Carnaby was dangerous for me, as I tried not to fill up all the extra room in my tiny suitcase on the very first stop of our trip!
We were lucky enough to have the chance to visit Re Design, whose office looks out onto Carnaby Street itself. Re is a part of Saatchi & Saatchi and has offices across the world, from the one we visited
in London to Sydney, Melbourne, NY, Stockholm, and Dubai. Re was the company that left the largest impression on me from the whole trip, as it was the first excursion we had. It also opened my eyes to many career possibilities and possible opportunities. We had the chance to learn about the company and see its work through the eyes of Tom and John (not Tom and Jerry) who were amazing in leading us through Re’s background. I loved the variety of content Re produces, from branding to UX to motion media. It was a very eye-opening experience for me as the agency’s work incorporated many of my personal design interests. The office itself was such a lively place, and not only because it looked out right onto Carnaby Street. It had a variety of fun workspaces, a nice kitchen area, and quality decorations.
With the plethora of shops and restaurants located in this district, I would say it is close to impossible to walk away without a single purchase. I ended up finding a new necklace as well as some peppermint tea to bring home to my mom. If you are a cashmere fan, there is an amazing little cashmere shop (it really is little) right outside of the pedestrian area. The Carnaby experience as a whole, from Re to the food and shopping, was insane. The experience design at Carnaby was clearly intentional, from all the holiday-spirited lights and intricate murals to the pop-up shops and outdoor seating, even in the wintertime. It definitely was a well-rounded experience, to say the least.
Eating Italy
Despite what it may sound like, I did not consume the whole country of Italy. However, I did try to eat my way through every restaurant I had the time and chance to go to. As someone obsessed with trying new foods and discovering new menus, I wanted to go to as many restaurants as possible in many different locations. And although I will say I was able to get quite the range of Italian eats, if you know me you would be shocked to hear that on this trip there were at least three times I returned to the same restaurant twice, willingly! I usually refuse to go to the same place twice when exploring something new, as I do not want to risk missing out on a new experience. However, these few restaurants all were able to make me a loyal customer after just one meal.
This experience made me realize how much influence brand loyalty can have, no matter how big or small the business. Trattoria Al Tettarello was no exception, and I would even go as far as to say it was my favorite restaurant experience of the entire trip. We returned to Trattoria Al Tettarello two nights in a row, and it did not disappoint even the second time. Just one experience made me feel a sense of loyalty to this brand, and I have many assumptions as to why I felt this way. One, a Rome local recommended this restaurant, which was enough ethos for me to develop some sort of respect for their brand. Two, the local restaurant was not in a touristy area and felt extremely authentic. Of course, the waiter contributed to the experience, and the food itself was amazing. Yet, the environment made this food taste twice as good as I believed it would be the most authentic. I can recall every dish and drink I tasted either night, as it was so memorable. Brand loyalty can be very simple. In this case, it developed from our personal experience at the restaurant, but this wouldn’t have begun without a local’s recommendation.. The recommendation from a local almost gives more credibility than if the restaurant had been ranked well online or seen in an advertisement.
The Adventures of Mere & Her Suitcase
No words for this one. Just watch and enjoy.
What theFork?
The real question you need to be asking is, what is “theFork”? When in Rome… kidding–actually when in Florence, we discovered theFork app. As students studying abroad in Italy, one thing was for certain – we needed to eat some good meals. Ideally, good meals we could afford. This is where theFork comes into play. A friend of someone recommended using the app as she had been using it all semester studying abroad in Florence. TheFork app allows anyone to discover local or top-rated restaurants, book reservations through the app, and then get awarded discounts through booking through this app. And believe me, it is 100% worth it. At least three different times, we were able to find a reservation for over six people available within an hour AND receive discounts up to 50% off of our entire meals simply through utilizing theFork’s booking service. We then continued to use the app throughout the rest of our travels in Italy, which probably allowed me to consume double the amount of gnocchis!
While on the topic of suggestions, I figure I’d share what I personally would recommend packing and, more importantly, what not to take with you. Must haves would be a tide stick, mini umbrella, and mini lint roller (emphasis on mini). And most importantly, maybe even more critical than things to bring is leaving extra space so you can take stuff back home.
First Afternoon
in Florence
Come along with us on our first afternoon and evening adventure in Florence after arriving at the hostel.
Ethos, Pathos, Logos
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Throughout the whole trip, being the typical graphic design student I am, I did obsess over many fun logos I spotted throughout Europe. Pictured here is a collection of some of my favorite branding I spotted over the course of my entire trip, including signage, logo design, packaging design, and much more. Before this trip, I was super curious if I would be able to spot differences in the design language between the U.S. and the U.K., and other European countries as well.
In London, I found the signage to be the most playful and entertaining element. One logo that I loved was the “Kite” design, with the dot of the i in “kite” floating away as a kite would. It is such a simple design, yet it communicates so much. In France, we were mostly in smaller towns and rural areas, so I felt like I didn’t get as much of a feel for design in France compared to England and Italy.
However, after our time in Italy, I ended up flying home from Zurich, Switzerland, so I got the chance to explore Swiss style and design which was super intriguing. Many of the photos in this collage are from one shop in Zurich, which I was obsessed with. The store was called Circle - The Sustainable Store and had products ranging from cosmetics to technology to lifestyle, and they were all sustainable. My favorite packaging design in this store was the perfume, especially the cute one with the little ducklings. And, of course, exploring all of the chocolate bar packaging as someone who loves chocolate and graphic design was too much fun. I would never say I bought too much chocolate. However, the fun chocolate packaging design definitely led me to buy more chocolate than I ever intended to!
Taste Test!
Taste testing French snacks with quite the view of Lacoste.
Lets Talk Business
Despite possibly being the most exhausting days of the trip, the two days at the Rome Business School may have won as the most entertaining days of the whole trip. These days ended up being a turning point in my mind in terms of opening up to the possibility of having a career in countries other than the U.S. With only being abroad on this school trip for three weeks, some may say we did not have the full student experience in another country. However, these two days at the Rome Business School gave me a glimpse of what this experience might be like.
Within two days, we were lucky enough to hear from 4 guest speakers, go on guided tours of the Trevi district and Vatican City, and even have an Italian cooking class where we made our own meals from scratch! The four speakers that the Rome Business School brought in for us represented a variety of career paths and businesses from size to genre of design, and it was quite a well-rounded experience. We got to hear from two of the schools' own Professors of fashion business, Guiliana Baldo Chiaron, and Professor of Arts & Culture Business, Giosue Prezioso, Derrick Jones, who runs his own personal studio, and Francesca Pollicini, event manager at ICOM. Beginning with Professor Chairon helped me understand the Made in Italy brand and its evolution which I felt was a really helpful background to Italian business culture as a whole before hearing from all the other speakers. This experience at the Rome Business School made me realize the variety of places careers in design can take you.
Abroad Adventures
Watch to enjoy a combo of adventures and laughs from England, France, and Italy.
