Silvia Alberti is an Assistant Professor of Graphic and Experience Design in the School of Visual Arts at Virginia Tech. Originally from Italy, she studies how visual and spatial design influences the way people understand information and act on it. Her work spans human-computer interaction, interactive installation, and spatial experience design, with current projects in health, fitness, and physical activity, from gym spaces to outdoor environments. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design and an MS in Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State University.

Silvia's research operates through Research through Design (RtD), using making as a mode of inquiry. Her central interest is how visual and spatial design shapes behavior. Specifically, how the representation of information influences what people understand and what they choose to do. Her current work applies this to health, fitness, and physical activity, where quantitative feedback dominates and often fails the people it is meant to help.

Her work draws on human-computer interaction (HCI), behavior change design, and information design, and extends into experience design and interactive environments, where representation becomes spatial and embodied.