Visual storytelling for placemakers

Pattern Festival 2024:

The shape of place and culture

This week, we organised a photo shoot for Patn members and the Patn team.


With the highly talented Tim McConville behind the camera, we got a collection of truly inspiring images of our growing community of placemakers.

This week, we organised a photo shoot for Patn members and the Patn team.

With the highly talented Tim McConville behind the camera, we got a collection of truly inspiring images of our growing community of placemakers.

This week, we organised a photo shoot for Patn members and the Patn team.

With the highly talented Tim McConville behind the camera, we got a collection of truly inspiring images of our growing community of placemakers.

21 February 2025

Image is important in business generally, as it is in placemaking specifically. The image of a place enables an intended audience to visualise it well before the completion, or even commencement, of construction. These impressions count. They’re a promise of what’s to come.

Of course, image is also vital when it comes to the finished article. The look of a place contributes to its feel and how end-users experience it.

Patn is a branding agency, so obviously we're concerned with image. We're also concerned with places and placemaking. Branding and placemaking are natural companions – they shape perceptions and tell stories to deliver positive outcomes. Shaping perceptions and storytelling were at the forefront of our minds during our recent photo shoot in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

The stories we tell

First impressions are critical. They can set the whole tone for what follows. This is as true for places as for people. The image you project matters.

We want our Patn members and our creative team to come across as the sort of individuals people feel they can trust.

We wanted our portraits to have character, rather than emit some notion of what would look "proper" or "professional".

We wanted our portraits to have character, rather than emit some notion of what would look "proper" or "professional".

This reflects the ethos of the Patn Community – independent, non-conformist, questioning hand-me-down opinions and eager to promote change. Some of these personalities may seem quirkier than others, but all stand out.

Consider this, what does a standard corporate headshot tell you about someone? What story does it tell other than a need to fit in with assumed norms?

We want to tell a different sort of story. The challenge in doing this with photography is to capture some essence of the subject instantaneously, something that should immediately click with the viewer.

But we also didn’t want to simply represent these individuals. We wanted the portraits to carry an undercurrent of possibility, similar to the bold visual promises places make. We think Tim’s work does this and then some – you look at these pictures and you feel that these people are not only going somewhere, but that they’ll take you with them.

Our community aims to inspire change. For this, it needs inspirational members.

Patn onscreen and in the flesh

The Patn portraits will appear in the members’ section of our platform. This will be an online resource of placemaking perspectives and news, driven by the issues our members choose to highlight and expand on.

Meanwhile, we continue to host our live monthly Patn Sprint meetups for our community and guests.

Look out for details of our next community event.

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Find us

Patn Studio


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Embankment East Tower Cathedral Approach
Salford M3 7FB

Subscribe to our newsletter

Find us

Patn Studio


x+why


Embankment East Tower Cathedral Approach
Salford M3 7FB

Subscribe to our newsletter

Find us

Patn Studio


x+why


Embankment East Tower Cathedral Approach
Salford M3 7FB

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