Perk — Abby James – Graphic designer for film, TV and commercials

Graphic designer for film, TV and commercials

Creating graphic details — big and small — to build worlds behind the camera. Sharp eye for layout and typography, from a decade in journalism and magazine publishing. Stuck in the late 20th century. Versed in period and contemporary. Lover of design high and low.

Former magazine journalist and print layout designer. Member of Graphics Union UK.

Based in London and the South East.

graphics@abbyjames.com
+44 (0) 7521 300 477

By Production (click to view)

Role

Type

Date

Silo

Senior graphic designer

Silo

Senior graphic designer

Lead graphic designer

Silo

RSPCA

Surface

Assistant graphic designer

Treason

Graphics assistant (dailies)

Limited Series

ITVX

Sep 2021

Perk

Graphic designer

Oct 2025

Untold Fable

Commercial

Production designer: Anna Rhodes
Set decorator: Abbie Kornstein
Art director: Ashley Dando

I juggled a wide range of styles and techniques for this campaign — from a 1666 contract document, to futuristic NASA-style control room screens.

The commercial for Perk — the go-to platform for managing travel, spend, expenses and invoices — shows how admin can you slow you down. Sir Isaac Newton, distracted by the unwieldy travel insurance paperwork he must sign, misses the falling apple (and the discovery of gravity). While an astronaut, doing a menial computer task, misses his spacecraft launch.

With no budget for a calligrapher, a customised handwriting font was used for the body copy of the indenture.

Seven identical repeats were produced, to be signed by Isaac Newton in action.

The document would have been wavily cut in half. Each party would have kept one half. The two halves could be put together — their edges matching up perfectly — to prove that they were the original, legitimate documents.

Aged strips of masking tape were threaded through holes in the parchment — and stood in for vellum ties.

Each repeat was aged with tea-staining, some digitally printed ageing, and finished with wax, after printing the graphic.

The drop-cap ‘T’ was hand-drawn with a dip-pen and brown ink; scanned; and printed.

Options for an operating system for the mars exploration space launch.

Operating system for space shuttle launch. Model by Anna Rhodes.

Over 20 screens, including modern desktops, and retro CRT monitors, were provided. Model by Anna Rhodes.

Sample of CRT monitor screens provided, inspired by 1970s space launches.

Dressing screens, inspired by modern space launches, and using Perk’s colour palette, including ‘Perk Green’.

Simple animation for scripted action at an astronaut’s computer screen. Without Perk, his workflow is too slow, and he misses his launch!

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