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 300 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.

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.

During this time she interned at various offices including the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office in The Hague, Studio Dumbar, 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.

Upon graduating during the 1980s, Boom decided to return to the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office where she worked for another five and a half years.

It gave her the opportunity to jump right into the shoes of a designer rather than an assistant designer.

During this time she became acquainted with Paul Fentener van Vlissingen who would invite her to design the SHV Think Book—a book which eventually elevated her status to a design star.

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'.

The annual Dutch postage stamp books was considered a prestigious opportunity with previous designers had including Wim Crouwel, Karel Martens and Gert Dumbar.

Boom's experimental style was evident in this particular publication, through the rich layers of information and imagery.

Boom structured the book in a Japanese style binding and had text crossing multiple pages with printed folds and translucent paper.

Though well received by Oxenaar, this project drew a lot of public outcry for being overtly experimental in comparison to previous editions.

Boom received much hate mail, particularly from stamp collectors.

However, this controversy brought her name into the public stage and established her name as a designer.

Boom founded the Irma Boom Office in Amsterdam in 1991.

She continued to tackle projects nationally and internationally in both the cultural and commercial sectors.

Since 1992, she has been a critic at Yale University, and has both lectured and given workshops worldwide.

She had also tutored at Jan van Eyck Academie, Masstricht in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2000.

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.

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.

Unconventional typographic trademarks of Boom may include the use of oversized type which successively shrinks from the opening to end of her book.

This claims is a way to lure people into reading the introductory pages.

Boom also makes use of various finishing in her printed material such as embossing and die cuts.

In her commissioned book for Chanel, Chanel N ͦ5, Boom printed an entire 300 page book devoid of ink, using instead embossed text and image to create a semi-invisible narrative of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel.

Her work has been shown at numerous international exhibitions, including her own solo exhibition in Amsterdam in 2011.