IF you have ever wondered what the origin story behind JPEG is, then you’re not alone.
Anyone who uses a computer in today’s day and age is likely familiar with JPEG files.
The format is the standard for images on most operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux.
JPEG was first introduced on September 18, 1992, as a lossy image compression format
Basically, it works by compressing digital images so they can be shared and distributed easily – like an image icon.
The term stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, which is the name of the group that created the JPEG standard.
Perhaps more notable, though, is the standard test image that was chosen by the group for JPEG.
This image comprised a cropped portrait of Swedish Playboy model Lena Forsen that appeared in Playboy in November 1972.
In the image, Forsen poses with her head looking over her shoulder as she sports a hat – the full Playboy image shows the model naked.
For many years, the photo, dubbed the “Lenna” was the standard test image, so naturally, it became the first JPEG compression file ever created.
The picture was chosen spontaneously two decades prior by engineers from the University of Southern California (USC).
Led by Alexander Sawchuk, the team was looking for a human image to feed their new compression algorithm and a Playboy magazine happened to be nearby.
Shortly after, engineers selected Forsen’s image, cropped it, and then scanned it at USC’s image processing lab.
It appeared on several research papers in the ’70s and ’80s, and then in 1991, “Lenna” was featured on the cover of an engineering journal.
By 1992, the image had become a favorite of the imaging and digital imaging world, including JPEG.
James Hutchinson, an editor at the University of Illinois College of Engineering told Wired that Forsen was for engineers “something like what Rita Hayworth was for US soldiers in the trenches of World War II.”
Despite its popularity, the image drummed up a lot of controversy over many decades.
One of the biggest issues with the photo was that it came from Playboy, which is viewed by some as being degrading to women.
“Suggestive pictures used in lectures on image processing … convey the message that the lecturer caters to the males only,” applied mathematician Dianne P. O’Leary wrote in a 1999 essay.
“For example, it is amazing that the “Lenna” pin-up image is still used as an example in courses and published as a test image in journals today,” she added.
In 2018, the journal Nature Nanotechnology revealed that they would no longer consider articles using the Lenna image.
Other journals quickly followed suit, including SPIE, the publisher of Optical Engineering.
A few years ago, Forsen herself admitted that she was tired of the image and working with organizations like Code Like A Girl to have it removed as the JPEG standard.
“I retired from modeling a long time ago,” said Forsen in a 2019 documentary film called Losing Lena.
“It’s time I retired from tech, too. We can make a simple change today that creates a lasting change for tomorrow. Let’s commit to losing me.”
