Irma Boom

Irma Boom (born 15 December 1960) is a Dutch graphic designer who specializes in bookmaking. Boom has been described as the "Queen of Books," having created over 500 books and is well reputed for her artistic autonomy within her field. Her bold experimental approach to her projects often challenges the convention of traditional books in both physical design and printed content.

Boom has been noted as the youngest recipient of the Gutenberg Prize, an award recognizing outstanding services to the advancement of the book arts. A selection of Boom's books are held in the permanent collection of MoMA, and a personalized Irma Boom Archive has been set up at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, showcasing Boom's work.

Biography

Born in Lochem, The Netherlands in 1960, Boom was the youngest child of nine in her family. Her venture into book design came by accident while pursuing painting at the AKI Academy of Art & Design. Boom had walked into a lecture on book design, and so profound was its impact that it inspired her to drop painting and join the graphic design department. Here she found a love for Swiss typography and began developing her creative voice.

Boom attended the AKI art academy in Enschede, Netherlands, where she pursued a B.F.A in graphic design. and The Dutch Television (NOS) design department. Boom had applied to intern at Total Design in Amsterdam, where Wim Crouwel was director, but had been rejected by his colleagues for mixing too many typefaces. Her work was far too experimental for a firm that was used to strict typographic convention.

Boom experienced her first job as both an editor and designer during her time at the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office in The Hague. It was here that she was noticed by Ootje Oxenaar, a designer of Dutch banknotes, who invited her to design two catalogues for special edition postage stamps between years 1987 and 1988. To him, she was the 'designer of the crazy ads'. She had been a member of the Supervisory Board Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam between 2004 and 2011 and has been a member of the board Premsela Foundation, Amsterdam since 2008.

Building books

Boom's books take on an architectural form and she views them as a unique medium for delivery of information. A thorough reflection of a book's content leads Boom to her design decisions. It is her aim to enhance the readers' understanding while at the same time creating an object of beauty, with quality and permanence. Boom considers the entire landscape of the book including the edges. She builds three-dimensional models in miniature scale to aid in the development of her books. From typography to material, every detail Boom applies to her projects possesses an underlying logic.

Titled Irma Boom: The Architecture of the Book, it contains 800 pages and 515 images. She has received extensive media coverage of her work, and Alice Rawsthorn writing for the New York Times profiled her in 2010.

Boom has designed most of her books with creative freedom in her designs. She designed a book titled Beautiful Ugly by Sarah Nuttall, with an olive-green colored cover and no pictures or text. "The book was designed in Amsterdam by Irma Boom, and I thank her for her extraordinary eye and prodigious talent for making books beautiful."

Notable books Irma Boom has created over 200 books. A selection of her books can be found at the permanent collection of the Architecture & Design department, MoMA.

SHV thinkbook 1996-1896

This book was the landmark book of Boom's career. This was to encourage readers to approach the book without constraints, but rather surprise and discovery. Tulip fields and a Dutch poem were incorporated into the edges of the book, viewable depending on the direction in which each page is flipped. It is an unusually thick book measuring 22.5 x 17 x 11 cm. It started with Boom being asked to 'look for the unusual'. It has been described as an international icon of Dutch design. It is part of the permanent collection of MoMA. The book was published in 2006 and was awarded a gold medal as 'The Most Beautiful Book in the World' at the Leipzig Book Fair. This book again troubled publishers for its blank cover, warning that an image is needed or it would not sell. Boom rejected a request to have the artists work on the cover stating that Hicks is an interesting artist who deserves a bigger audience, therefore is in need of a more abstract cover.

N°5 Culture Chanel

For Chanel's 2013 exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Boom created a book filled with solid white, textural pages. The 300 page book was printed devoid of ink, instead embossed with text and image creating a semi-invisible narrative for Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. It is part of the permanent collection at MoMA.

Commissions & clients Boom's clients include the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Inside Outside, The Museum of Modern Art New York, Prince Claus Fund, Fondazione Prada, Maserati, OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Yale University Press (London)/Bard Graduate Center (New York), Serpentine Gallery, Wiel Arets, Chanel, Paul Fentener van Vlissingen, Museum Boijmans, Zumtobel, Ferrari, Vitra International, NAi Publishers, United Nations, Koninklijke Tichelaar, Makkum, Aga Khan Foundation and Camper.

Boom is very selective of her projects, and collaborations. She is particular in acting roles while taking on projects:

She maintains that books are a collaborative effort, requiring trust and freedom between the commissioner and the designer.

Collections alt=A photograph showing two white walls with a few dozen books nestled inside small transparent display cases mounted to the walls. Books are arranged by color, in a rainbow color order, with yellow on the left and blue on the right end. Museum of Modern Art, New York – Selection of books at the permanent collection of the Architecture & Design department

Select awards & honors Boom has over 50 awards and honors and nominations received between 1989 and the present.

award from the AIGA for the cover design of the book "Artek and the Aaltos: Creating a Modern World" (2016). Quotes