Photoshop Media Innovation Essay

Introduction

Media is one of the most imperative platforms where most people get information about various aspects of their lives. A significant number of people from all walks of life converge in the media to carry out multiple activities. Some of these activities may include getting information, marketing, and trading online. Media is a field that has evolved over the years. It started with simple devices with limited access to information as well as other things. Due to evolution, a variety of innovations have come up. These innovations are markers of huge strides made towards making the media a favorable platform (Perse, & Lambe, 2016). Some changes that have led to media transformation include technological innovations. Earlier, media devices were simple, but what is there currently are sophisticated devices that can carry out certain functions, some of which are complex. Photoshop is among the innovations that have transformed the media we have presently.

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Photoshop is as a result of innovation by two brothers by the names Thomas and john in 1987 (Eppink, 2014). It involves the use of software that manipulates images. It is common parlance to say that a picture is a Photoshop. This term means that the image is not the real one but a result of manipulation where the designer makes it look as he/she would desire. Photoshop is a critical component of media technology that most photographers, game designers, advertisers, meme developers, and graphic designers. This software is usually available to those who require it at a fee. Photoshop software is essential as it has assisted many people in getting jobs and earning a living. The majority of youths have ventured into Photoshop for a livelihood. Thanks to the innovators who keep on coming up with innovations that transform the lives of many people and assist in developing the economy due to creating employment to the people.

The Context of the Innovation

The innovation of photoshop came along with a handful of benefits to the media and the publishing sector. Before its change, the publishing industry was a different industry compared to what it is now that there is photoshop. Before the introduction of Photoshop to the media and the publishing industry, there were no digital tools (Eppink, 2014). The technology was not as advanced as it is currently. The lack of technological devices in the industry made publishing and designing significantly hard. It was challenging to design and create their graphics, and everything was done manually using hand pens and rubber cement. It must have been a hard time for the graphic designers to produce likable content of graphics.

The innovation of Photoshop into the media and publication industries has changed things for better (Eppink, 2014). The graphic designers have had a simple task in the creation of designing quality graphics that make their consumers love them. Unlike before, where graphic designers were manually designing their graphics, it is easier currently as they use digital devices to do their graphics. With digital gadgets for graphic designs and photoshop, their work has become more comfortable. It has also facilitated the production of vast quantities of their graphics and other pictures that have a better quality compared to what they were producing before the invention of photoshop (Eppink, 2014).

Innovations Before and After Photoshop

Before the change of photoshop, there was an essential aspect of innovation which was the introduction of a computer. Computer innovation was a crucial turning point in the media and publication industry. The introduction of the computers made significant transformation which made the media industry a better sector. Working with computers in the media industry made it more comfortable. In the publication sector, publications were more accessible and more convenient. The use of computers in media ensured that the quality and quantity of the publications improved (Perse, & Lambe, 2016). The publication media transformed vigorously with massive turnovers of their writings. However, this innovation was not without challenges. Some of the problems that it causes were the loss of jobs. A computer could do jobs that were previously done by more than one person. With a computer, only one person would be required to operate it, and the others would lose their jobs.

In December 1990, shortly after the invention of photoshop, the World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners. This was a critical invention that transformed the media and publication sector (Perse, & Lambe, 2016). The innovation was crucial as it facilitated more accessible communication as well as more comfortable when searching, formatting, and sending their content to various people worldwide.

What Was the Need for Photoshop?

Photoshop is essential software that assists in the creation of high-quality graphics in media. The need for coming up with photoshop software was to make the work of photographers, graphic designers, and other people who work with various media to facilitate the production of quality graphics (Ahearn, 2016). As found earlier, the work of producing photographs and other graphics was an uphill task that was done manually. The manual work of graphic production was of poor quality, and the consumers seemed not to like it. To cover the gap, adobe photoshop was invented to curb the problem. This computer software was designed to edit and manipulate images using digital gadgets. Another reason why adobe photoshop was intended was to increase the quantity of the copies that would be produced as it was easier to create more than what was created during the error of manual graphic designing.

Uses of Photoshop

Photoshop was previously used to serve the purpose mentioned earlier. It was a practical application which led to significant media and graphics transformations. It eased up the work of graphic designers as well as the quality and quality of graphics produced compared to those that were created manually. Additionally, it has promoted the media industries that deal with the production and airing of graphics (Ahearn, 2016).

Nevertheless, due to increased technology and easy access to this computer software, some people, firms, and organizations are misusing it. Some are using it to produce malicious images and others in exaggerating images to attract viewership in other social media platforms. Today photoshop is being misused in creating dirty images and in defaming people. It is currently being used by most youths and firms as well as those that use social media to share graphics.

Photoshop Narrative

Currently, many people are considering photoshop as a lair. They attribute this to its ability to change the appearance of a person either to exaggerate or to make it look weird. Most graphics that people share show faces and images different from the standard photos of the people and other objects. Other images have mysterious appearances which may be used to defame or distract. This is a misuse of the software as it was meant to serve the purpose better than these.

Metaphor About Photoshop

There is a common metaphor surrounding photoshop. This metaphor considers photoshop a mask. It mentions that photoshop hides the real image either to make it look better are to make it look bad. It is accurate as it has been found out today that people are using photoshop to make their images look better and others to look bad for the reasons of appeasing or defaming a person or an object (Shaath, Al-Hanjouri, Naser, & ALdahdooh, 2017). However, no substantial researches have been conducted to confirm this metaphor.

Media in the Society

Media is significantly endorsed by society. Society perceives media as a reliable way of sending and receiving information (Campbell, Jensen, Gomery, Fabos, & Frechette, 2014). It is, therefore, an essential part of the community. Media impacts the lives of people in a variety of styles, such as sending information and other uses. Press in society is a source of entertainment for the people. It provides education platforms where people learn various aspects ranging from politics, management, health, innovation, and many more. The society depends on media to get information about their countries, and their surrounding as well as other aspects that affect their lives in a variety of ways. Therefore media is a reliable tool for communication in society. However, the press may also impact the community negatively, such as defaming and inciting people (Campbell, et al.2014). It also affects the morals of the people adversely as it may facilitate the transfer of information that may have potentially harmful information.

Conclusion

Innovation is critical in the media. Photoshop is an essential program that assists in graphic design which may positively impact the media. When misused, it can be used to defame people and cause harm to the involved person. Media is also a critical component of society which may have benefits as mentioned earlier as well as advantages mentioned. It is, therefore, imminent to use these platforms for the intended reasons instead of misusing them and causing harm to other people

References

Ahearn, L. (2016). 3D game textures: create professional game art using photoshop. AK Peters/CRC Press.

Campbell, R., Jensen, J., Gomery, D., Fabos, B., & Frechette, J. D. (2014). Media in society. Boston, MA and New York: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Eppink, J. (2014). A brief history of the GIF (so far). Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3), 298-306.

Perse, E. M., & Lambe, J. (2016). Media effects and society. Routledge.Shaath, M. Z., Al-Hanjouri, M., Naser, S. S. A., & ALdahdooh, R. (2017). Photoshop (CS6) intelligent tutoring system.