How Thomas Knoll pioneered the field of digital imaging
Do you use Photoshop or photo editing software? Have you ever crafted the perfect Instagram selfie? Then you owe thanks to Thomas Knoll – the creator of Photoshop who revolutionized how we capture and modify images in the digital age.
Overview: Thomas Knoll‘s Long Road to Inventing Photoshop
Before we dive into Knoll‘s complete biography, let‘s briefly summarize his seminal contributions:
- Born in 1960, Knoll combined his interests in photography and programming to write early image manipulation subroutines
- He created an application called Display in 1987 which his brother John helped expand into ImagePro
- The software was eventually renamed Photoshop and licensed to Adobe for distribution
- Version 1.0 launched in 1990 as the first widely available photo editing program for PCs
- Adobe later fully acquired Photoshop and Knoll continued innovating new tools like layers, RAW integration, and Lightroom
- Knoll has won prestigious awards like the 2019 Academy Sci-Tech Oscar for the invention of Photoshop
Now let‘s rewind and trace Knoll‘s complete journey that led to developing this world-famous graphics editing program.
Upbringing By a Photographer Father
Thomas Knoll entered the world in 1960 in Ann Arbor Michigan, where he spent his entire childhood. His father Glenn Knoll worked as a university professor but photography was his true passion.
Glenn set up a darkroom in the family‘s basement and started snapping photos with his Minolta SR-T 101. As Thomas recalled in a 2010 interview:
"He was very much into photography and that was an influence on me growing up. I was able to use his darkroom and learn about photography and developing photos."
The Knoll household also embraced emerging technology. Glenn purchased an Apple II Plus computer which fascinated Thomas and his brother John. They spent countless hours experimenting with computer graphics and coding. These twin interests perfectly primed Thomas‘ future pioneering work.
Discovering a Passion for Programming
Knoll followed in his father‘s academic footsteps by attending the University of Michigan. He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science in 1984. During this period, Knoll started work on graphics algorithms and photographic subroutines – the building blocks that would evolve into Photoshop.
Though Knoll began doctoral studies after college, he devoted more energy to his nascent imaging software. As he later quipped:
"The procrastination actually worked out and I never did finish the Ph. D."
We have his procrastination to thank – otherwise Photoshop may never have existed!
From Display to Photoshop: Iterating a Masterpiece
By 1987, Knoll had written enough graphics subroutines for manipulation, translation, and filtering to warrant compiling them into a full software program. He dubbed his creation "Display" since it focused chiefly on image display.
Knoll‘s brother John also dabbled in computer graphics for movie effects at Industrial Light and Magic. Upon seeing Thomas‘ software, John immediately recognized similarities to the systems ILM used. He convinced Thomas to add more editing and filtering functions.
By 1988 they upgraded the program to "ImagePro" and showcased it across the tech community. Feedback was extremely positive and proved photographers yearned for precisely this type of editing software.
Still unsatisfied with the name ‘ImagePro‘, Knoll agonized over the branding. While demonstrating the software in 1989, he got chatting with an attendee who suggested "PhotoShop" – and the name stuck! thus culminating years of development into what we now call Photoshop 1.0 – released January 1990 by scanner company BarneyScan.
| Photoshop Version | Release Year | Major New Features |
|---|---|---|
| Version 1.0 | 1990 | Layers, CMYK support, paths |
| Version 2.5 | 1992 | Multi-layer editing |
| Version 3.0 | 1994 | Adjustment layers, live previews |
| Version 5.0 | 1999 | Save For Web, extract filter |
| Version CS | 2003 | Shadows/highlights, match color |
(See complete feature timeline here.)
From Side Project to Global Phenomenon
Photoshop 1.0 entered a world dominated by manifestations of Knoll’s father – literal film photography and airbrushed magazine spreads. Yet it was not until Photoshop arrived that the Photoshop gave ability to perfect photos to everyone with access to a computer.
John Knoll & industry experts quickly grasped its potential. He convinced Adobe to license Photoshop exclusively in 1989. As acquisition talks started in 1994, Photoshop product manager Scott Hamburg reflected:
We realized that people were comparing everything to Photoshop. While we wanted to go head-to-head with competitors, we knew Photoshop had become its own market category. — CreativePro Interview
By 1997 Photoshop had so thoroughly trounced rivals that Adobe purchased it outright for an undisclosed sum. Yet Knoll continued leading development – architecting key advances like RAW camera file integration, non-destructive editing with Lightroom, and embracing digital cameras with his cross-platform DNG RAW format.
Lasting Impact: The Photoshop Effect
It‘s impossible to overstate Photoshop‘s cultural influence. As early as 1990, to ‘Photoshop‘ became shorthand for editing any image. When Knoll learned his software spawned its own verb, his response was:
"It‘s quite neat to have a verb that you created."
Today Photoshop facilitates artistry as much as artifice. Yet Knoll designed it above all to expand creative possibilities. He resisted calls to automate functions altogether, believing that:
“absolute automation would stand in the way of creativity.”
Each evolution of Photoshop aimed to balance automation with human intuition and serendipity. Knoll built a digital darkroom not just for efficiency but enjoyment. Just as his father Glenn developed film photos for the magic of watching images emerge, Thomas Knoll sought to preserve that sense of wonder – if not magic – in his program.
And therein lies his greatest achievement: building creative tools that feel creative themselves, inviting endless artistic expression beyond his wildest dreams.
Recognition for a Visionary Inventor
Knoll finally received acclaim befitting such an epochal software invention in 2019. He and brother John accepted the Academy Sci-Tech Award Oscar for the original architecture and impact of Photoshop – a fitting capstone to Thomas‘ illustrious career.
While the world has moved far beyond darkrooms today, we still have pioneers like Thomas Knoll to thank each time we launch our favorite photo editing app. Every filter we apply builds upon Knoll‘s founding vision over 30 years ago – that empowering people‘s creativity with software can transform how we see our world.
