The fourth edition in the iconic red mini book series by world-renowned Dutch designer Irma Boom, Book Activist, is published here for the first time in a complete Japanese translation. The set also includes a pink English booklet, housed together in a single box.
Spanning 1,500 pages and featuring 720 richly detailed illustrations, this remarkable volume encourages a new generation of designers to embrace experimentation, while reaffirming the enduring relevance of the book as a vital medium.
In Book Activist, she presents a powerful vision that transcends the role of the traditional book designer. Positioning herself as a “Book Activist,” she explores the essence of the book, the value of printed matter, and its lasting cultural significance.
Based on her extensive research into the development of the book at the Vatican Library, Book Activist functions both as a survey of book history and as a compact retrospective of her distinguished career, featuring a selection of more than 500 books she has designed. It also includes a presentation of her research findings, an introduction to selected Japanese books from the ib Library Collection that she holds in special regard, and a tribute to her partner, Julius Vermeulen.
Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, as well as in the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam, where her complete oeuvre is preserved as the Irma Boom Archive.
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Title: Book Activist
Author: Irma Boom
Publisher: MUJI BOOKS
Publishing date: June 1, 2026
Language: Japanese, with a separate English Appendix
Printed & Bound: The Netherlands
Page: 1500 + 176 (English Appendix)
Box size: 160 × 120 × 65 mm
Book size: 80 × 61 mm
The fourth edition in the iconic red mini book series by world-renowned Dutch designer Irma Boom, Book Activist, is published here for the first time in a complete Japanese translation. The set also includes a pink English booklet, housed together in a single box.
Spanning 1,500 pages and featuring 720 richly detailed illustrations, this remarkable volume encourages a new generation of designers to embrace experimentation, while reaffirming the enduring relevance of the book as a vital medium.
In Book Activist, she presents a powerful vision that transcends the role of the traditional book designer. Positioning herself as a “Book Activist,” she explores the essence of the book, the value of printed matter, and its lasting cultural significance.
Based on her extensive research into the development of the book at the Vatican Library, Book Activist functions both as a survey of book history and as a compact retrospective of her distinguished career, featuring a selection of more than 500 books she has designed. It also includes a presentation of her research findings, an introduction to selected Japanese books from the ib Library Collection that she holds in special regard, and a tribute to her partner, Julius Vermeulen.
Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, as well as in the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam, where her complete oeuvre is preserved as the Irma Boom Archive.
—
Title: Book Activist
Author: Irma Boom
Publisher: MUJI BOOKS
Publishing date: June 1, 2026
Language: Japanese, with a separate English Appendix
Printed & Bound: The Netherlands
Page: 1500 + 176 (English Appendix)
Box size: 160 × 120 × 65 mm
Book size: 80 × 61 mm
