Boom and her books

Whether big, small, fat or thin, the publications created by Dutch designer Irma Boom are seldom less than extraordinary. Eliza Williams meets her

These are troubled times for book lovers. With the likes of the Kindle and the iPad making it easy to carry around hundreds of titles, the market for printed books is shrinking, reflected in the closure of high street bookshops across the world. Recent reports suggest that even Ikea has stuck the knife in, by introducing a new, deeper version of its ubiquitous Billy bookcase to reflect its changing use from a book storage device to a display case for ornaments.

Yet for fans of the medium, a book is not solely a conduit for knowledge or stories, it offers an experience in itself. In the right circumstances, design and materials can even conspire to elevate a book into an art object. Certain designers understand this deeply, and create books that clearly demonstrate how print continues to be relevant within our digital world, and can in turn still prove commercially successful.

A pioneer of this philosophy is Dutch designer Irma Boom. Boom is behind some of the most enticing books in recent times, from her celebrated monograph of the work of 'fibre artist' Sheila Hicks to a number of collaborations with Rem Koolhaas, including the recent Project Japan book.

With many of her designs in the collection at MoMA in New York, Boom has amply proven how a contemporary book can be revered as an art object, yet her books are never about style over substance. Instead she creates publications that intrinsically reflect the information held within them, using design to enhance the reader's understanding of the content, while also to create an object of beauty.

Boom first discovered the potential of book design while at art school. She had enrolled to study painting, but after three years she stumbled upon a class on book design and was drawn in. Painting was immediately left behind. "Immediately," she stresses. "I never touched a brush again. Isn't that crazy? But maybe for me becoming a painter was my limited view: I had no idea what else was in the world.

"From painting I suddenly went to Swiss typography," she continues. "I was totally obsessed...