Graphic designer Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda, a graphic artist, both long-time members of the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800), are set to receive the prestigious Eagle-Con Prism Award to be presented by California State University Los Angeles on Thursday.
The Okudas are iconic figures in the “Star Trek” universe. They were part of the “Star Trek” production team at Paramount Pictures and CBS for more than two decades, co-wrote “The Star Trek Encyclopedia,” and continue to be involved in various “Star Trek” areas, currently serving as visual consultants on the high-definition remastering of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Michael Okuda has been credited on more “Star Trek” movies and television episodes than anyone except series creator Gene Roddenberry.
Eagle-Con is Cal State L.A.’s mini indie comic book convention, celebrating the creative arts and exploring diversity in identity representation. The Prism Award is given in recognition of the envisioning and projection of a diverse and representative spectrum of people into the future through artistic media. The award will be presented in the university’s Student Union at 5:30 p.m.
Michael Okuda designed the look of animated computer displays for the Enterprise-A bridge in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” He joined the team producing “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” where his most famous contribution is the graphic user interface of the fictional LCARS computer system used throughout Starfleet starships. In homage to its creator, this visual style has come to be known among fans as “okudagrams.”
He was technical consultant on many of the “Star Trek” television shows and movies and “invented” the so-called Heisenberg compensator as a way to explain how the fictional transporter might work.
In the real world, Okuda has designed logos for NASA missions and has received the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal.
Denise Okuda worked as a graphic artist and was the computer and video playback supervisor for several “Star Trek” film and television productions, as well as other science fiction television ranging from “Threshold” to “The Flash.” She co-authored “The Star Trek Encyclopedia” and “The Star Trek Chronology.”
The Art Directors Guild will be providing some 200 pieces of art for display at Eagle-Con.