somebody once said that I’m building books. i really like that expression. —irma boom
Irma Boom “Hommage à Kelly”, 2016. Designed as a tribute to one of her biggest inspirations, artist Ellsworth Kelly.
from painting to graphic design
Born in 1960 in Lochem, the Netherlands, Irma Boom was the youngest of nine children. She attended the AKI Academy Art School to become a painter but that didn’t work out, as it was not what she envisioned. At school she was searching for another discipline and while wandering the school entered a class where a teacher was talking about books. The teacher, Abe Kuipers, recited poetry and texts from books he carried from Groningen to Enschede.
Irma Boom “Hommage à Kelly”, 2016. Designed as a tribute to one of her biggest inspirations, artist Ellsworth Kelly.
“Hella Jongerius: Misfit”, 2010. Book designed by Irma Boom.
SHV Think Book, 1996. Designed by Irma Boom.
i compare my work to architecture. i don’t build villas, i build social housing. —irma boom
A fragment of “De Rijp/Kunst op Kamers” book, 2008. Designed by Irma Boom and Cees Straus.
experimental book about stamps
During her B.F.A. in design Irma Boom interned at various prestigious offices including Studio Dumbar. Her work was often rejected as too experimental for firms accustomed to strict typographic conventions. At the same time her experimental books began attracting new interesting commissioners. In 1987–1988 Boom designed the official annual Dutch postage stamp books. She structured them in Japanese style binding and had text crossing multiple pages with printed folds and translucent paper. It was her first work where she also acted as image editor, which was unusual for the time. Boom received much hate mail, particularly from stamp collectors, who thought the books were controversial. However, such controversy brought her name onto the public stage and established her name as a designer.
the books are industrially made and they need to be made very well. it’s never art. never, never, never. —irma boom
