The intention was to make the book a design object in its own right.

The vacuum-formed cover entices the viewer to open and discover, though essays, project descriptions and design reflections, how design affects and reflects our culture. The design comes from a pattern for a textile designed by Jennifer Morla but never put into production. Entitled “Mitosis,” it emulates the biological division of a mother cell into two daughter cells — an apt metaphor for a mother with two daughters.

The vacuum-formed, thermoplastic polycarbonate cover was inspired and informed by the work Morla did on a Clorox book project from 2012 in which she created a die from a 1967 Clorox bottle and formed a vacuum-formed bas relief for the book cover.