Jonathan Olivares studied industrial design at Pratt Institute. In 2006 he founded his own office, Jonathan Olivares Design Research, based in Boston, MA. The office’s clients include leading producers of contemporary furniture and lighting, distinguished museums for design and art, and publications on design and architecture. In 2008 and 2009 JODR products Smith and Territorio were nominated for Italy’s prestigious Compasso d’Oro prize, and in 2010 JODR received a research grant from the Graham Foundation in Chicago for a study on outdoor work spaces. Olivares has taught design workshops at ÉCAL in Lausanne, Switzerland and has been a guest designer in the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Designed Objects program. In 2011 the office’s first book, A Taxonomy of Office Chairs, which documents the evolution of the office chair, was published by Phaidon Press.