The collaboration between IED and Forbes Next Leaders continues: for the August issue, the cover was designed by Chiara Robino, Alumna in Illustration from IED Torino in the 2025/26 academic year.
Forbes Next Leaders: Alumna Chiara Robino designs the August cover
Date
31 July 2026
The project born from the collaboration between IED and Forbes Next Leaders, the magazine dedicated to exploring new generations, work, innovation and the transformations shaping contemporary society, continues to evolve. An initiative that engages IED students and Alumni in the design of the magazine’s covers, offering them the opportunity to work with real editorial briefs and themes that encourage them to interpret the present and imagine the future.
The August cover by Chiara Robino
With the August issue, the collaboration enters a new chapter by entrusting Chiara Robino, Alumna of Bachelor of Arts in Illustration at IED Torino in the 2025/26 academic year, with the task of developing a visual proposal capable of translating the editorial brief into an image.
As in previous editions of the project, participating students and Alumni are invited to engage with real professional processes, working on original concepts in dialogue with the magazine’s visual identity and editorial content.
The theme
The brief invited participants to reflect on the value of observation as the starting point of creative thinking, exploring the relationship between space, environment and imagination. This creative challenge called for an interpretation of the ability to observe the surrounding world as a catalyst for generating new ideas, connections and perspectives.
The observation of space was understood not merely as an exercise in interpreting reality, but as an opportunity to transform what surrounds us into creative material, opening up unexpected possibilities and new ways of imagining the future.
The visual concept behind the cover “Un'estate intelligente”
For the creation of the cover, entitled “Un'estate intelligente”, Chiara Robino developed an image inspired by the observation of space and environment as places where ideas are generated.
The illustration depicts a setting that gradually transforms into a canvas open to the imagination, a space where thoughts, insights and inspirations can take shape freely. The observed environment remains more than a simple landscape; it becomes a creative territory to be explored, capable of hosting new visions and stimulating the construction of possible futures.
The interpretation
The visual proposal interprets creativity as a process that emerges from the encounter between what we observe and what we imagine.
In the cover, space becomes a metaphor for an open dimension where experience, curiosity and creative thinking intersect. The image suggests how every element of the external world can become an opportunity for exploration and inspiration, allowing creativity the freedom to move beyond predefined boundaries.
The result is a reflection on the value of observation as a tool for knowledge and on the ability of new generations to transform observation into vision, intuition and creative action.
The value of the project
The August cover further demonstrates the value of the collaboration between IED and Forbes Next Leaders, a project that places students and Alumni in direct contact with real editorial processes and the responsibility of translating complex themes into effective visual narratives.
Through the design of the magazine’s covers, participants strengthen their creative skills, ability to synthesise ideas and professional awareness, experiencing first-hand the dialogue between education, publishing and the creative industries. Month after month, the initiative continues to showcase the talent of new generations while reinforcing IED’s role as a bridge between education and professional practice.
View all the Forbes Next Leaders covers, created month by month by IED students and alumni.
Original drawing by Chiara Robino
Alumna IED Torino - Illustration
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