I am adding to my compulsive list of computer screens for the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise. It's a detailed compilation, but the research had already been done by fans of the show who are much more rabid about it than I am. Michael McMaster has published online a free set of blueprints showing the exact construction of the main bridge down to the last button, with labelled functions for every control. Primarily, I worked from his drawings, using sources from the shows to get the colours correct.
From what I can tell, there are sixteen unique screens on the Enterprise bridge, not including the overhead displays, the main screen, or the navigation console out in front. I drew six of them. At first, I had wanted to re-create some of the displays, but then I became interested in how they were put together.
The screens are means to look informative at a glance and from a distance. They do not stand up to close examination. Even though my screens are likely 75% accurate compared to the ones on the show, the screens created in the 1960's show many small inconsistencies when you look at them close-up, which is typical for most television shows.
I wonder why the original designers omitted blue from their screens. My guess is that blue lights would wash out under the big studio lights, and combined with the limited colour fidelity of the film stock, blue lights might come out looking bland. Maybe they wanted to avoid chroma blue, which could have been used for the main screen.
In any case, I am impressed with the economy of style used to create the look of these screens: they do look important, but they don't really portray any useable information.
In order from top to boom, I believe these would be a warp field monitor, the universal translator, warp drive indicators, matter transfer gauges, and two life-support screens.
Star Trek is the intellectual property of Paramount Studios.
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