John Warnock earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and philosophy in 1961, a master’s degree in mathematics in 1964, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science in 1969 from the University of Utah, a hub for early Computer Science innovation. His Ph.D. research produced the Warnock algorithm, a pioneering area subdivision method for hidden surface removal in computer graphics. Following graduation, he advanced graphics technology at Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation, and IBM before joining Xerox Palo Alto Research Center in 1978 as a principal scientist. There, with Charles Geschke, he developed device-independent interactive graphics and the InterPress printer protocol.

In 1982, Warnock and Geschke co-founded Adobe Systems, Inc., introducing PostScript—a page description language that enabled scalable type, high-quality graphics, and printing—sparking the desktop publishing revolution and later the Portable Document Format (PDF). He served as Adobe’s president from 1982 to 1984, CEO from 1984 to 2000, co-chairman of the board from 1997 to 2017, and board director until his death on August 19, 2023. Warnock and Geschke received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2009; he also earned the University of Utah Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1995 and gave the 2020 commencement keynote. With wife Marva, he funded the $6 million John and Marva Warnock Engineering Building (2007) for Computer Science and Engineering, endowed four chairs, and an artist residency, and co-authored Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Arts (University of Utah Press, 2009). His work transformed computer graphics, publishing, and digital media.