To launch our Rome Summer Workshop we ask past participants to comment on their experiences. Here is Reham Ibrahim, a senior designer at the experience design team at Edelman, where she creates social experiences that connect brands with audiences through digital and physical environments. She was living in Dubai (although originally from Egypt) when she joined us.

What was your favorite part of the workshop and did you gain anything you did not expect? Having breakfast with Steven Heller, Lita Talarico, and Louise Fili in the hotel lobby in the mornings. And as cheesy as this may sound, I didn’t expect to gain new friends through this program but I did and I love it!

How has it changed your career? The workshops and field trips to ancient Roman sites, led by top Italian designers, typographers and historians, allowed me to dive deep into the history of typography and its origins and experience it all first hand, as opposed to reading about it in books, and listening to lectures in a classroom. It was a great way for me to learn about it all and to use what I’ve learned t as I designed posters, books, and other printed materials, when I joined SVA’s MFA Design / Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program 2 months after the workshop.

What did you learn the most? And have you shared with others (through workshops, presentations or in class) what you learned with others and how? I’ve learned that you can learn something new each day, while traveling, and while eating delicious food and mingling with people from all over the world, while attending workshops and meeting Italian designers, and while creating a new project from start to finish, in just two weeks.

As for the project that I came up with, I uploaded it onto my own personal website as it’s one of my favorite projects of all time, since not only did I get to explore the use of typography on my layouts in three different languages (English, Italian and Arabic), but I was also able to capture glimpses of the trip within the project, that would serve as a reminder of the great time that I had, at an amazing city, and with an awesome group of people.

How would you describe the program to others? A fun and engaging experience with people from all over the world who come together for the love of typography and Italian food. You’ll get to do so much in only two weeks: go on field trips to ancient sites and design ateliers, draw letters from classic models, participate in critiques, create your own mini project that you’d get to present at the end, and eat delicious Italian food.. everyday!