Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Next Generation Main Bridge

Another of Gene Roddenberry's directives during the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation was that the Enterprise-D should appear as though it could be operated by just a few officers on the bridge, with far fewer manual controls like the multi-colored buttons and switches of the original Enterprise. To that end, hundreds (if not thousands) of backlit graphics were devised by scenic artists Michael and Denise Okuda, eschewing the traditional physical buttons and keyboards normally associated with fictional spacecraft in favor of (simulated) touchscreen computer interfaces.

Lovingly dubbed "Okudagrams" by TNG's art department, these backlit graphics gave the impression that the ship was filled with futuristic touchscreen computer controls. According to Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda's Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, though, the LCARS style interfaces (an acronym for "Library Computer Access and Retrieval System") were relatively low-tech:

Most of our control panels and displays are large, photographic transparencies designed by Mike Okuda and Cari Thomas using Adobe Illustrator, as well as conventional pen-and-ink techniques. These large sheets of film are mounted on Plexiglass and backlit with electronic "blinkies" by the Star Trek special mechanical effects department under the supervision of Dick Brownfield. The result is a very a clean "high tech" look to our panels.

Despite how expertly Commander Data or Ensign Crusher or Lieutenant Worf appeared working their controls throughout TNG's seven seasons, the bridge's computer controls had no set operating procedure and the buttons were mostly labeled with gibberish in-jokes and the initials of the show's production staff. According to Michael Okuda in a response to us on Twitter:

I talked with the cast about the style of hand movements. I was mostly concerned that they look comfortable and efficient. Occasionally Patrick Stewart would call me down to the stage and ask me which specific buttons to push for a scene, but mostly it was improv.