Amsterdam-based designer Irma Boom is renowned for her artistic approach to bookmaking and her latest work, commissioned by Chanel, is testament to the ground breaking, architectural way in which she approaches the published form. Boom’s book for Chanel is unique in that it lacks ink. Instead, the text and images within are embossed onto heavy stock paper, with the aim to provide a more mysterious experience for the reader.

Inspired by the legacy of Coco Chanel and the perfumes the house has produced over the years, Boom wrote down several words: Poetry, Abstract, Invisible, Simplicity, and Ephemeral, which to her characterised the brand and informed how she approached her model. These words are present in the book’s clean white pages, unmarred by print. The book’s dimensions are also conceptual - exactly 5cm thick to represent Chanel No.5.

The project was not without its challenges. The embossing process itself proved difficult as traditional methods rendered the words and images flat. To remedy this, Boom used a vintage letterpress machine with the ink removed. Each page was initially designed on an aluminium plate to be turned into a mould that the pages could be pressed against, allowing the embossings to keep their form.

An exercise in ephemeral simplicity, Boom's book sits in rather stark contrast to other recent design-led publications, like Today Designer’s Naar Inkt Vissen, printed in squid ink to produce a fishy smell.