A design system drawn from Quino's Mafalda as it actually reached readers between 1964 and 1973: one black ink sitting in cheap, grey-warm newsprint, four equal panels in a row, hand-lettered balloons with a single tail.

Everything is printed into the paper rather than floated above it. Rules are hand-ruled and uneven, shading is crosshatch and dot screen, and the only colour allowed is the light green of Mafalda's dress and bow — used once, like a punchline.