No one thinks as freely as Irma Boom when it comes to book design. She transforms books into objects and sometimes even encourages readers to tear the pages into pieces. No wonder she is celebrated as the world’s best book designer.
Irma Boom
Already her first book was a sensation. When Irma Boom was still learning the craft, she was commissioned to design the official annual Dutch postage stamp books. Even back then, she didn’t care in the slightest about the rules of book design, and instead went her very own way. And she still does. Sometimes she puts the entire contents of a book on its cover, then roughens the paper to feel like fabric. Boom – which means tree in Dutch – works worldwide and also exhibits internationally, designs for the most exciting artists, and turns extraordinary projects into publications.
This fall, »Susie« will be published, a unique declaration of love from singer and artist Nick Cave to his wife. While Irma Boom keeps jumping to her feet to fetch a book from the shelf in her Amsterdam office, we talk about the relationship between books and bodies, about ideas that seem to appear out of nowhere—and why she was almost thrown out of the Vatican libraries.
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Illustration & KI: Und jetzt? ++ ENGLISH SPECIAL Irma Boom ++ Kreativranking ++ Q&A: Jean-Remy von Matt ++ Löwenstark! Der Case Leipzig ++ 40 Jahre PAGE: Dditorial Design ++ Interview: Lisa Robben ++ EXTRA: Job & Karriere: Aus- und Weiterbildung 2026
PAGE: You were always interested in conceptual art. What fascinates you so much about it?
Irma Boom: I think, basically the imagination. For me, there is so much more to see in abstract art than in figurative art. Instead of seeing what is shown to me, abstraction gets my brain working.
