Design and innovation explode from every corner of the Palo Alto Art Center as art-lovers and technophiles view the new IDEO exhibition. With new technology and creative ideas, this display of electronic prototypes rightly received many viewers.

This Sunday was the last day to tour the IDEO exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center. "IDEO Prototypes the Future", first revealed June 22 was very popular said the center’s curator, Signe Mayfield. A diverse group of people came to see this exhibition. A fair amount of viewers were Palo Altans who had just passed by an came in to look. Others came in who were already familiar with IDEO’s advancement in the economy and came to check out the process by which many of their inventions are made. This exhibition’s sleek and modern themes attracted mostly people under 30, says Mayfield.

"The general concept of the exhibition was to exhibit some of those prototypes that were ideas that have not been commercially produced, and to give the public a sense of the IDEO creative process, from which we may all benefit," Mayfield said.

This exhibition showcased many original prototypes, some of which have already made it on the market, such as the Palm V palm pilot. Other exhibited products are not yet commercially available.

Based in Palo Alto, IDEO started off as a design firm with a small office situated over a dress shop. It has expanded spatially, technologically, and financially since then. IDEO is considered aninternationally-recognized leaderin human-centered design," according to the Palo Alto Art Center’s web site. IDEO has offices in London, Munich, and Shanghai.

In 1999, ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel exposed IDEO to the public for the first time on television. The program featured an episode called "The Deep Dive," which recorded methods IDEO used and challenges the company endured in helping change American culture.

Many ubiquitous creations including the portable defibrillator, the first Apple mouse, and even the salad spinner, were all created by members of IDEO’s design team, although they are labeled and associated with different brands.

Some of the prototypes featured in this exhibition include Crave Aid, a product designed to imitate nicotine patches, but instead that help quench your hunger for junk foods; Spark K-12 Learning Platform, a pocketbook-sized, mobile computer with a foldout keyboard; and Identity Card Exploration, which uses actual DNA of the person For more accuracy with identity trust.

Of all the products featured, the Ha-Ori Shelter, a collapsible emergency shelter that can be easily set up in a backyard, stood out the most, as it was the largest prototype and was placed in the center of the exhibit.

"Many expressed a desire to have [one] in their own backyards, or wished there had been some kind of design solution, like the shelter, for emergency situations such as the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina," Mayfield said.

According to Mayfield, the Palo Alto Art Center tries to feature diverse ideas of art and allow viewers to get new perspectives on other exhibitions, and, although IDEO was a great exhibition, this art center will most likely not host another exhibit similar to IDEO’s anytime soon.