Creativity, locks and clocks

The cover feature, by Adam Lent, director of the RSA’s Action and Research Centre, is about how governments, business and our institutions need to make the most of the technologies and methods that are transforming our economy. He starts in the 1760s, with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, and draws a path to today’s ‘open innovation’ trend, where everyone is encouraged to bring ideas to the table. It’s a piece that takes in the sweep of history, but it has a very modern message about enabling far more people to have access to a creative life. Our challenge was to render this idea visually.