In 1987 people were rocking out to Walk Like an Egyptian, falling in love with The Princess Bride, and were just meeting the Tanner Family from Full House. It was in this pre-digital world—a world almost impossible for us to imagine now—that Thomas Knoll dreamed up and created Display, a pixel imaging program. Display was purchased by the then nascent software company Adobe, and in 1990—25 years ago—was released under a new, now famous name. “Photoshop” was born.
Today, the digital imaging revolution that Photoshop started is so pervasive that remembering a time before it existed takes some work. So it’s with great pleasure, on Photoshop’s 25th anniversary, that we look back to the simpler, pre-millennial world into which it was born, not to celebrate the past but to recognize what an awesome transformation our world has undergone in such a short amount of time. Hallmarks like today remind us of what is possible when human artistry and imagination unite with technology to make our dreams real before our eyes. In the case of Photoshop, making dreams visible is the product’s literal promise.
2015 will be a year of celebrating, not where Photoshop has been, but where Photoshop is going and the people that make it possible. Below is our “bucket list” for the year, events we invite you to join us in as we look ahead to the next 25 years of Photoshop, and the future that we will co-create together.
Photoshop’s 25th Anniversary Bucket List:
- Showcase Photoshop’s 25 Under 25 to the world
- Joke around with Jimmy Kimmel Live
- Dream On
- Join Instagram (Duh)
- Blow up Reddit
- Pick the brain of our creator
To follow along with our anniversary celebration keep an eye on #Photoshop25 or check in with us here.
On behalf of the whole team, a hearty thank you to the creative community and to the world for supporting the evolution of Photoshop. Here’s to the next quarter century!
