Irma Boom

I had never heard of Irma Boom before now, but i instantly took a liking to her books. Irma Boom is a book maker from Gelderland in the Netherlands. After finding out how Boom goes about producing her books  and how she starts off the project by researching  her subject in great depth, i wanted to find out more about her and her work. Because of the time she spends researching the subject, the books usually take on the identity of the information Boom has found out. 

"Reading one of her books is like embarking on a visual adventure yet, by beginning each design project with rigorous research into the book’s contents and detailed discussions with its subjects, editor and author, Boom ensures that the aesthetic impact of her work is entirely empathetic with the text."

Irma Boom http://designmuseum.org/design/irma-boom
Book Designer (1960-)
The European Design Show
Design Museum Touring Exhibition

This shows how she wants the book to be almost a journey through the subject the book is about for the reader, and for the book to be undeniably a record of her reasearch and epitamize the subject.

SHV book, 1996
Irma Boom

SHV book, 1996
Irma Boom

These are images of the book she produced for SHV, a holdings company in the Netherlands. Whilst producing this book apparently she went to shareholders meetings, and  did further research for 3 and half years before starting production on the book.  In this way her books cannot be scrutinized for not being true to the subject as she has spent the time finding out the facts and getting the feel of the company  or brief she has been given.

“I can’t even work for someone telling me what size of book to make.” Irma Boom, http://designmuseum.org/design/irma-boom

This is a quote from Irma Boom after she completed the book for SHV. She feels it is difficult to the work to a brief after finishing the book as she had such freedom doing it for 5 years. This adds to the journey the reader feels as she was not working to a plan and was sort of on a journey herself as she produced it, so the readers would feel the same as they are reading.

References

http://designmuseum.org/design/irma-boom

http://www.shv.nl/

http://www.designws.com/pagina/1buch2006.htm - Translated

http://www.typotheque.com/authors/irma_boom