The Visiting Artists Program resource guides contain upcoming speakers' biographies, articles, video and audio content, related publications in the Flaxman Library, and additional online resources. These guides may be used in the classroom in preparation for the event, research, or post-lecture discussion.
Irma Boom: Tuesday, October 13, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. CT
Click here to join via Zoom, Passcode: SAICVAP (closed captions available)
Tune in to view a virtual studio visit with designer Irma Boom.
Irma Boom is an acclaimed graphic designer and bookmaker based in Amsterdam. Boom studied fine art and graphic design at the AKI Academy of Art & Design in Enschede. After graduation, she worked for five years at the Dutch Government Publishing and Printing Office in The Hague. In 1991, she founded Irma Boom Office, which works nationally and internationally with clients mainly from the cultural sector. Boom works as both designer and editor on projects. She has created over 300 books and is known for artistic autonomy within her field. For five years (1990–1996), Boom designed and edited the 2136–page book, SHV Think Book 1996–1896, commissioned by SHV Holdings in Utrecht. The SHV Think Book was published in English and Chinese. Boom’s bold experimental approach often challenges the conventions of traditional books in both physical design and printed content.
Boom’s books are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; Vatican Library, Vatican City, Italy; and The Centre Pompidou, Paris, among other institutions. The Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam collects Boom’s complete oeuvre and archival documents in a collection called The Living Archive. In 2001, Boom was the youngest ever laureate to receive the prestigious Gutenberg prize for her complete oeuvre. In 2014, Boom received the Johannes Vermeer Award, the Dutch state prize for the arts, from the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science. The jury unanimously awarded Boom for her unparalleled achievements in the field of graphic design. Since 1992, Boom has been a Senior Critic at Yale University and hosted lectures and workshops worldwide.
Presented in partnership with the Art Institute of Chicago.
Image credit: Irma Boom. Photo by Tejo Krijgsman.
Irma Boom on standing up for yourself, even in the face of controversy
Ruby Boddington | It’s Nice That | March 16, 2020
Interview with Irma Boom
Eleanor Beaumont | The Architectural Review | January 16, 2019
Irma Boom’s Beguiling Book Designs
Alice Rawsthorn | Frieze Magazine | December 18, 2018
Rem Koolhaas and Irma Boom publish in-depth survey of building details
Ellie Stathaki | Wallpaper | October 3, 2018
At the Office with Irma Boom, Queen of Books
Anna Winston | AnOther Magazine | August 22, 2018
8 Snippets of Design Wisdom from Book Designer Irma Boom
Print Magazine | July 31, 2018
Irma Boom’s Library, Where Pure Experimentalism Is on the Shelf*
Joshua Barone | The New York Times | January 17, 2017
*This is a library resource that requires ARTIC login
Reinventing the look (even smell) of a book*
Alice Rawsthorne | The New York Times | March 18, 2007
*This is a library resource that requires ARTIC login
Irma Boom: The Architecture of the Book by 
Sheila Hicks by 
Rem Koolhaas. Elements of Architecture by 
Olafur Eliasson by 
Design and the Elastic Mind by 
Colour, Based on Nature by 
Claudy Jongstra by 
Art Is Therapy by 
Koolhaas/Obrist. Project Japan. Metabolism Talks by 
Viktor&Rolf Cover Cover by 
Rijksmuseum by 
Making Design by 
Artist - Work - Lisson by Art Institute of Chicago Collection
Irma Boom works in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.
Visiting Artists Program Lecture Recordings from the Archive
SAIC Visiting Artists Program video and audio lecture recordings (1977–present.) Available with SAIC login credentials.
SAIC Digital Collections: Visiting Artists Program
SAIC Visiting Artists Program publicity archive and audio recordings (1977-98).
