Star Trek’s elegant Okudagrams

Michael Okuda is a graphic designer responsible for the gorgeous interfaces you see in Star Trek films.

michele roohani Okudagrams20

 

Being a Trekkie since I was watching the series in Iran as a child and later an avid fan of the Next Generation, my design sensibilities have been shaped subconsciously by Okuda:

michele roohani Okudagrams29

 

I am a User Experience designer and create interfaces every day but Michael Okuda keeps creeping back to the simplest flow chart I make!

michele roohani Okudagrams09

 

The whole beauty of Star Trek bridge was thanks to these otherworldly interfaces we have been exposed to; Jean-Luc Picard added the spice. 😉

michele-roohani-Okudagrams26

 

You would see commander Ryker interact with LCARS (Library Computer Access/Retrieval System) more often than Picard:

Riker star trek okudagram michele roohani

 

Here is the holodeck interface where you can choose between scuba diving or a conversation with Einstein:

holodeck michele roohani

 

Okudagrams  came in different colors and shapes but always intriguing and in the time when you couldn’t stop the film to absorbe the image, I was always pissed at not getting enough of these ephemeral beauties!

michele roohani Okudagrams15

 

Here is another one:

michele roohani Okudagrams14

 

and the good doctor in front of the DNA comparison scan:

michele roohani Okudagrams17

 

Long before Tom Cruise bedazzled us in Minority Report and the impractical but exquisite 3D interfaces he reacted with, Star Trek introduced us to what could be done and now is being done and used by millions:

They even had an LCARS mobile!

michele roohani Okudagrams02

 

All of these images are not from Okuda of course; many have been created as an homage to ST and Okuda by fans.

michele roohani Okudagrams21

 

U.S.S. Enterprise in all its glory:

michele roohani Okudagrams24

 

Okuda designed logos for a number of NASA missions and programs including the STS-125 mission of Space Shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. NASA has always been  more of a fan of Star Trek than Star Wars!

michele roohani Okudagrams16

 

So Okuda received the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal.

michele roohani Okudagrams13

Again different variations  of Tricorder or the  multifunction hand-held device used for sensor scanning, data anlysis and recording data. A smartphone!

michele-roohani-Okudagrams30

 

Even the old generation of Star Trek had its own Okudagrams:

michele roohani Okudagrams34

 

I like this one about the shuttles:

michele roohani Okudagrams07

The next one even has a Facebook and Twitter button! 😉

michele roohani Okudagrams03

 

Can’t get enough of these:

michele roohani Okudagrams31

michele roohani Okudagrams01

I am looking forward to reading “Make it so, Interaction Design Lessons from Science Fiction”. I learned about the book listening to UXpod with Chris Noessel.

3 thoughts on “Star Trek’s elegant Okudagrams

  1. omg. I must be older than you….when I was a kid watching original series I used to wonder who did the graphics on the computers and thought they MUST be working designers doing things in daily life. thanks for this post, for finally being able to locate the mastermind behind these futuristic “interfaces” that i’m sure influenced many! an interesting post I learned from! cheers.

  2. Great explanation of Okudagrams. Have seen some of Star Trek but this helps me understand better the technology. Amazing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *