60 years of 'Star Trek': The colorful origins of the rainbow warp effect
By Jeff Spry
Published on March 4, 2026.
The "rainbow warp effect" is a distinctive visual representation of the Star Trek universe, first introduced in 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The iconic design was used to represent a warp field, but has evolved to become an instantly recognizable part of the franchise. The latest version of this display appears in episode intros of " " in a tribute to the iconic visual. The original Star Trek logo was designed to represent the visible light spectrum shift that occurred when the Enterprise made a warp jump. While the more recent films have neglected to use the full shimmering prismatic effect, it has been formally adopted by Paramount+ for their streaming posters, banners, and thumbnails for each of the original "star Trek" films released from 1979 to 1991.
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