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1987: A PhD Tool's Origin
In 1987, Thomas Knoll, a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, was deeply involved in computer vision research. A significant challenge he faced was accurately displaying grayscale images on the monochrome monitors prevalent at the time. To overcome this technical hurdle, Knoll developed a small, specialized program he named "Display." This innovative tool was capable of rendering images with 256 distinct shades of gray, a considerable advancement for the era. Initially, Knoll conceived of "Display" purely as a utility for his own doctoral dissertation, with no broader commercial aspirations.
John Knoll's Business Insight
Thomas's brother, John Knoll, worked at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the company renowned for its visual effects in Star Wars. Upon seeing his brother's program, John immediately recognized its potential, intuiting that "this could become a standard in the graphics industry." He persuaded Thomas to expand the program's capabilities, suggesting the addition of features such as a paint brush, a concept similar to layers, and color adjustment tools. The two brothers dedicated their weekends to coding, collaboratively developing these new functionalities.
Adobe's 1990 Decision
The Knoll brothers demonstrated their enhanced program to several companies. SuperMac initially offered a licensing deal but later withdrew it. In 1989, Adobe Systems officially licensed the software and subsequently released it under its own brand. The first version, Adobe Photoshop 1.0, was launched in February 1990. Thomas Knoll joined Adobe and remains with the company to this day. Over time, Photoshop has become so ubiquitous that its name has evolved into a verb, with "photoshopped" commonly used to describe images that have been digitally altered or manipulated.
The Character for 'Processing'
The Chinese character "工" (gōng) carries meanings such as "tool," "to refine," and "to create." This character is fundamental to words like "gōngzuò" (work/craft), "gōngchéng" (process/engineering), and "gōngyì" (craftsmanship). The very act of refining or manipulating an image is inherently captured within this character. The journey of a PhD dissertation tool transforming into the global standard for image processing for humanity mirrors the evolution of the character "工" itself, embodying the progression from raw material to refined creation.
