When people discovered that they could upload images onto a computer and possibly adjust them, they went crazy for it. This desire drove developers to create software just for the occasion. Many programs were created, but only one stood above the others: Adobe's Photoshop.
Adobe Photoshop first came into existence in 1987 when Thomas Knoll wrote a program that could display grayscale images on low-end computers. This tech impressed his brother John, who convinced Thomas that they should turn it into a full image-editing software. In 1990, the Photoshop software was released exclusively on the Macintosh, albeit with a limited color handling. The software quickly became the industry standard for designers and developers. The software was a welcome alternative to the other systems that could cost users $300-plus an hour to do basic image editing. Eventually, the word "Photoshop" became synonymous with image-editing general.
In an interview with Adweek, Adobe senior director of creative and media Alex Amado called Photoshop's 25th birthday a "huge milestone" for the company.
"It's the tool we put out into the world that's had the broadest impact.....It's used in the design process of pretty much everything we see and touch these days-every ad you've reviewed, all the photography in every publication, everything from logos on T-shirts to billboards, industrial design and the movies," Amado said.
In honor of the 25th anniversary, Adobe created a 60-second ad to show what people can do with this software. Amado described it as both a tribute and a challenge to Photoshop's users.
The ad will appear during the 2015 Oscars on Sunday, but you can watch it below first.
