Bringing places to life: The power of digital storytelling

Video has become one of the most powerful ways of communicating what a place is, and what it could become. Once seen as an add-on or a nice-to-have, it should now be considered as a central tool to how boroughs, developers and public organisations connect with their audience and express the vision for the places they’re shaping. A single sequence (people talking, walking, laughing ) can communicate intention in a way words rarely can.

What’s driving this shift isn’t just the rise of new platforms or increasingly accessible tech. It’s the growing expectation that ideas should feel relatable. Places are built for people, and people instinctively connect with content that reflects something human, something familiar. Video gives us a way to translate complex concepts into something intuitive, something that feels lived in. It doesn’t dilute detail; it simply makes it more digestible. 

For those of us working in communication and design, this evolution has reshaped the craft. The difference lies in how intentional the work feels. When a film is made because we want to tell the story, not purely to produce a piece of content, that honesty becomes visible. Viewers can sense when a message has been crafted with care and authenticity.

But video is more than a tool for explanation. It’s a way of inviting people into the narrative long before a place is complete. It can express how a development might feel, not just how it might look. It can capture the character of a neighbourhood, the voices of its residents, or the rhythm of everyday life. When people recognise themselves in the story, the connection becomes real.

The tools get faster, the formats shift, and the algorithms reinvent themselves every few months. But the heart of the work stays the same: designing for people. Creating stories that reflect not just structures and strategies, but the communities who will live, work, and grow in the places we are shaping.
Good digital storytelling builds understanding. Great digital storytelling builds belonging.

The more thoughtfully we design our digital storytelling, the more room we create for people to see themselves not just in the skyline, but in the narrative that brings it to life.