One of the marks of a true technological phenomenon is its ability to add new words to our language, explaining ideas or objects that previously did not exist. In many cases like this (think Kleenex or Q-Tips) the trademarked name becomes standard usage, applied to similar products that don't actually bear (or in some cases deserve) the original name. This is good news for our language but bad news for the trademark holder: a word entering standard usage in most cases spells the end of any legal trademark protection.

In recent years the computer revolution has brought with it a whole host of new vocabulary words. One particularly popular word actually bends the meaning of a previously existing phrase. "Photoshop" or "photoshopping" no longer refers to an actual photo studio or the work done therein; it actually refers to a software program that has revolutionized the way we look at (and think about) photographs.

Photoshop Enhances Photography--and Art
Photoshop came into life as a tool for electronically editing and enhancing scanned photographs or images. It "digitized" common tasks like cropping, adjusting contrast or colors--tasks that formerly had to be performed in an actual photo studio and could now be performed on a personal computer. Within a few years, "photshopping" an image was common parlance for fixing up an image on your computer.

The latest generation of Photoshop software is extremely powerful, and it brings with it a whole new set of capabilities that were simply impossible in a traditional photo studio. Photoshop allows digital artists to manipulate--and even create--images in a way that has revolutionized image design. Combining multiple images into one and applying sophisticated (and often breathtaking) filters allows graphic design professionals and artists to create the layered, textured images that we find in magazines, advertisements and even art galleries.