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Michael Okuda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael Okuda is a graphic designer who is best known for his work on Star Trek.
In the mid-1980s he designed the look of animated computer displays for the Enterprise-A bridge in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
This led to a staff position on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987 as a scenic artist, adding detail to set designs and props. His most famous contribution to The Next Generation is the GUI of the fictional LCARS computer system used throughout the Enterprise-D and other Starfleet starships. In homage to its creator, this visual style has come to be known among fans as "okudagrams".
Okuda also served as a technical consultant on the various TNG-era Star Trek series along with Rick Sternbach, advising the script-writers on the technology used throughout the Star Trek universe such as the transporters and the warp drive. This work resulted in a technical manual which was distributed to prospective script-writers along with the series bible. The manual was later published in revised and updated form as the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual by Pocket Books. Michael then went on to write a number of Star Trek books with his wife, Denise.
Okuda continued working at Paramount Studios on the Star Trek series that followed The Next Generation, until the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005. He also worked on the Star Trek movies that were produced while the various television series were in production. Okuda is currently working to digitally remaster and update special visual effects for the original series.
He is known to have answered the question "How does the Heisenberg compensator work?" with "They work just fine, thank you."
In the Babylon 5 episode "Infection," a computer display showing the scan of an artifact shows "Okudazin" as one of the contents. This is probably a tip of the hat to Michael.
Okuda remains involved creatively with the Star Trek franchise. He and Denise created the text commentaries in the ten Star Trek Special Edition DVD movies, as well as special text commentaries for the Star Trek Fan Collection sets. Okuda is currently an acting consultant for Perpetual Entertainment in their development of the MMORPG Star Trek Online.[1]
Okuda also designed the logo for NASA's new Orion program, designed to return humans to the moon. The logo was unveiled on August 26, 2006.[2]
He also helped with the cataloging of items for the auction of Star Trek memorabilia by Christie's auction house. The event, and the preparation for it, is included in the History Channel documentary Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier.
- Okuda, Michael; Clark, Margaret with Doug Drexler (November 2006). Star Trek: Ships of the Line. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 1-416-53243-9.
- Okuda, Michael; & Sternbach, Rick (1991). Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-70427-3.
- Okuda, Denise; Okuda, Michael; & Mirek, Debbie (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5.
- Okuda, Denise; & Okuda, Michael (1996). Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53610-9.