William Ware Theiss designed the original form of the famous Starfleet "arrowhead" insignia back in 1964 for "The Cage," the first pilot episode of The Original Series. In 1987, Theiss worked with the Star Trek art department to update his iconic design for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Besides simplifying the original design and adding an elliptical background, the The Next Generation version of the insignia had one major new feature: it served as a personal voice communicator, making it more advanced - and even easier to use - than the flip-top phones used in The Original Series.