So I played a custom game as Vi and really liked how she plays. I tried my first game on her in normals and went 11/7/8. She is someone I really want to play with and try in a lane. So if she is useful in a lane, what are some builds that can be used on her? And if not, and she only thrives in the jungle, what is her recommended jungle path? Any feedback is appreciated! 
Lane Vi is do-able if you make sure you play it right and choose your matchup carefully.
As an example, I played Vi in a top lane matchup against a Nasus and absolutely destroyed him, so its definitely possible to achieve success with her in lane.
Her kit provides quite a bit both defensively through shields/mobility and offensively through damage and CC. I would suggest maxing Q first, which should allow you to win most trades because of its damage potential and your passive shield.
A build you might consider would be something like: 
That would give you solid damage output, and provide ample protection from both physical and magic damage. Obviously if the enemy team is heavy on one type of damage over the other, or if a certain opponent gets ahead, you can adjust your build to compensate, but this is a nice general build I feel. Its also worth noting that is a really expensive item, so if youre losing lane and struggling for cash getting a 
or something instead would be your best option.
Lane not so much. She has no ranged attack whatsoever to farm minions and doesn't get her shield unless she autos. So no lane.
You want to carry as vi then look up XJ9 dat vi build. I went G5-p1 Ez playing as a selfish vi. You can literally 1v5 with her.
She is absolutely viable in lane if you take her into certain matchups.
she can top lane like most other junglers but just not as good as most of the traditional top laners, because thats what their kit is built for.
I'd say she's more viable than most would think. I don't think she'd beat, say, Darius or Garen, but she's a surprisingly strong duelist late game, and has high damage potential early. And once she hits level 6, a friendly jungle gank should result in a kill every time.
I got stuck playing Vi for the first time into Rengar mid (yay one for all), and ended up doing pretty well. While Rengar is probably one of the worst mid lane picks in the game, I think Vi mid could work. Her splash damage allows for great harass, and because mid is such a small lane you dont need to be at their tower to hit them with it. Her Q is basically a Zed W, works great as a gap closer or escape, and her W allows her to win extended trades.
I guess the outlier of her kit would be her ult. It's a pretty hard engage which I see either working incredibly well or failing epically in mid, mostly because mid laners tend to be pretty slippery. A huge benefit of playing her mid is being able to pull off epic ganks. And we all know how Vi ganks are.
Yeah I think she is pretty able top lane. Her burst can get pretty olent since you can build a bit of damage.
Off topic but do you think she has to take off her gloves to play the olin?
