Femininity and authenticity are at the forefront of this project, and the choices made for the layout reflect that at every step. With a minimalist, monochrome set-up, the design creates an intimate atmosphere that offers the reader an honest and raw window into the lives of the 100 women presented in the book. While photographs take up most of the space, the typography remains simple and understated, allowing the images to shine through.

The full page, sharp black-and-white portraits capture the women in a natural, sincere and open way, urging the viewer to slow down and take in everything that is being presented to them. The relaxed poses, genuine smiles, wrinkles and blemishes, eyes wide open or half shut, as well as the details in the background – an office, the street, home – create an inviting environment where the subject gets to show her true self.

The writing, while it only takes up a small portion of the book, is nevertheless an important part of the design. The original Spanish text is presented in an open, spaced out manner, with each thought separated by a dot, and the lines giving each other room to breathe and even to insert additional notes, as can be seen in the occasional small lines of silver text that appear throughout the ‘testament’. Following that, the English and Dutch translations take a more economical approach by showing the text in two columns of smaller, more condensed characters. The essence of the writing, however, is preserved in the same dotted breaks and spacing between paragraphs.

The core message of the book is synthesized by the design of the cover. The close-up image of nylon tights – abstract, yet so recognizable – is a symbol strongly associated with femininity, but also fragility due to the easily breakable nature of the material. The vertical tear that runs along most of the page and stops right before the end, intersecting the title, can be viewed as a metaphor for the family lineages that will end with the women presented in the book. At the same time, together with the other snags and rips visible on the photograph, the broken tight is also meant to represent the imperfections and faults that make up real people, as well as the ephemerality of human life.