The Vital Signs project at Cambridge University has been investigating notations and representational systems for five years. Challenging application domains for this work have included home automation, web queries, pedagogical rhetoric, and more powerful spreadsheets. The main drivers for this research are cognitive theories of representation and abstraction, but the outcomes include a range of novel systems, with a special emphasis on cognitively-motivated tangible user interfaces and ubiquitous computing devices.

Alan Blackwell is a lecturer in the Cambridge University Computer Laboratory, with qualifications in professional engineering and experimental psychology. He has spent 12 years as a designer of industrial systems and software products, and nearly 10 years working in design research, collaborating with academics, artists and professionals from many disciplines. He teaches design and HCI courses in the Computer Laboratory and Architecture Faculty. He is a Fellow of Darwin College and of the Cambridge-MIT Institute.