Sounds like another tiring outdoor game? It’s not an outdoor game and it’s not tiring. Well, it may be tiring in a way but not, at least, for those skilled designers.

The Photoshop Tennis was invented by Jim Coudal, founder of Coudal Partners, a Chicago advertising and design agency, one summer before September 11 terrorist attack. He and a friend “whacked” a file back and forth to kill time. Then he invited designers he knew to play in official matches.

Photoshop Tennis is an on-line game in which players are mostly web designers. The object of game is to add one layer of design on an image document that is sent back and forth by two players. Only one image document is used. Players are allowed to put different layers of designs such as background and foreground. Results are posted on a website in real time. The game ends whenever players decide to end it or if it takes hours decision will be based on number of votes.

After four test matches and four official matches were completed, designers from ad agencies and design shops visited his site. Some of them contacted Coudal for a chance to play in a match.

Have you ever imagined what life would be like without these big, larger than life posters and signage to aesthetically improve our place? Are you not amazed at how great quality and colors are? Are you not struck with brilliance and true-to-life depiction of images in each of these billboards?

When billboards were first posted, they not only expressed artistic creativity, they also were medium of information and reminders for people of current events and new products. The people then were not yet attuned on billboards being very powerful tools in helping others in ways that they have never imagined before. Fortunately today, we have learned of its uses and are utilizing them in several ways.

Billboards are cheapest and it reaches more people than any other form of advertising. Thus, many small businesses, and even some of big corporations for that matter, utilize this form of media because television and radio commercials are more expensive and costly.

One state in fact used billboards to improve visual quality of their community, and also serve as tools to reduce alcohol consumption by minors. Still another state made several billboards to try to convince people to stop smoking, to prevent spread of AIDS, and to offer pregnancy support.

However, despite its practical uses, billboards first and foremost are works of art in modern sense. Its production process, from conceptualization to posting, is definitely a designer's and artist's imaginations put to life.

When designers are put to work to create these magnificent billboards, they do not see their assignment as something corporate or practical. I mean, sure, they see also numbers in every assignment. But let's face it. Within each of these designer and artist, billboards are their next work of art. With every billboard assignment, they see themselves as modern Leonardo Da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh.