Saffron Renzullo

Whether she’s copywriting, art directing or illustrating, Saffron Renzullo’s creative approach is led by purpose and fuelled by community. After finding her feet through Night School – a programme that supported diverse creatives – Saffron has gone on to work on major campaigns like PG Tips’ “It’s Not Just Tea. It’s Progress.” She’s also the founder of Inter Melanin, a football club that’s become a powerful space for joy, belonging and solidarity. Here, the London-based freelancer shares how she’s carved a creative path on her own terms – and why the best ideas often start from the top deck of a bus.

What I do

How would you describe what you do as a creative and illustrator?
I’m a hybrid Creative who copywrites and art directs adverts. I’ll decide what they should say and how they should look, from what you see on screens to what you pass in the streets.

I also illustrate. But I mostly do that when something pisses me off in the world and I want to say something about it.

Saffron's workspace

What are the main influences and inspirations behind your work?
I’ll never forget learning that people see at least 4,000 adverts a day. The power of advertising hit me and I realised I had a seat at the table and a platform to give people a voice. To make them feel seen. To share lived experiences and move communities forward.

Tell us more about Inter Melanin!
I saw many grassroots women’s football clubs pop up after the Lionesses won the Euros in 2022. But I couldn’t see myself in them, as the majority were made up of white players, so I decided to create my own.

Taking up space on the pitch since 2023, Inter Melanin is a football club for women and non-binary people who are Black and of Colour. Right now, we have two football teams, one in North London and one in South, with over 400 people on our waitlist. From the locker room to the karaoke room, the team has evolved to become a safe space and form of community care.

Football affords us so much more than kicking ball. It gives us something to believe in, how to use our voice and gives us an escape. Hope. Resilience. Connection. Joy. Belonging. The beautiful game is something everyone deserves to be a part of.

Inter Melanin FC

What does a normal day-to-day usually look like for you?
On a good day… I wake up and don’t look at my phone. I go on a run or to the gym, come back and journal with a cup of tea and brekkie before I start my day. Time to myself in the morning is so sacred to me.

In dark times and a world full of comparison, it’s so easy to cloud your brain with what you see on the tiny screen you carry around in your pocket all day. My day then looks like cracking on with a freelance gig, or looking for one, in and around any bits I need to do to keep Inter Melanin moving forward.

What’s been your favourite project to work on from the past year, and why?
‘PG Tips. It’s Not Just Tea. It’s Progress.’

In an overwhelming world, the PG tea break is a place of fresh perspectives inside the noise of life. A time to check in with ourselves and create a moment of personal progress that helps move you along. Something I think a divided nation can agree on.

I learnt so much working on this campaign alongside ECD and founder of CALLING, Josh Tensor. Starring Ashley Walters, directed by Sir Steve McQueen and scored by Ezra Collective. There was so much talent and craft that went into creating these films, it really felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

How I got here

Thinking about skills and training – can you tell us how your passion for illustration led to where you are today?
Ever since I can remember, I've always loved drawing. I studied it throughout school and in my art foundation at Camberwell UAL. I then chose to do a psychology degree at uni because I was so intrigued by humans and why we feel the things we do.

But that didn’t stop me from drawing, I gravitated towards it. More and more. When I left I applied for Night School because I wanted to explore this passion of mine. What I enjoyed doing most was coming up with the idea within the illustration.

Night School was a mentorship programme, created by The Brooklyn Brothers and Yellowzine, to help Black people and people of colour get into the creative industry. After I was blessed enough for them to offer me a job, they said, “We think you’re a creative art director.” And I replied saying, “What the hell is that?”

Night School in action

How did Night School shape your creative voice and career path?
Night School gave me a foot in the door. I’m super grateful for what everyone saw in me during the programme and what it has led to after, now being in the industry for 5 years. It just shows how important it is to open doors for people who don’t have access.

I learnt so much, but the biggest gift I received was when we were asked what the world needs. And what can we bring? That’s when I found my sweet spot – my creative voice.

Do you think not attending traditional ad school has given you a unique perspective?
When there are no rules, you get to write your own. I didn’t even know a ‘creative’ in advertising existed.

It wasn’t until my first year in advertising that I discovered I could write. I would have never dreamed of being a writer. I was never a bookworm or into words. But I made it my own.

How did you go about landing your first few jobs, clients and/or commissions?
I was made redundant and jobless for three months. During that time, I probably met with 20 different agencies before I found my next role at CALLING through an incredible recruiter, Simon Harle. It really felt like an everything-happens-for-a-reason moment.

You never know when it’s going to come. Or who or what is going to get you there. Until then, you have to seriously hustle. Get onto everything and everyone. This is what I'm currently reminding myself as I search for freelance work…It’s easy to lose hope. But you got this (always).

How important are social media and self-promotion to your work?
When that voice in your head says “They’ll think I'm annoying if I email again” or “If I post again” or “If I comment again”. Tell it STFU. Every time I've done that, I'm proven wrong and met with a response. Never stop reaching out and gassing yourself up.

What are three things that you’ve found useful to your work or career, and why?
Sitting on top of the bus. Headphones off. Phone away. Listening to people around me and watching life through the windows. It’s my favourite way to lock into real life. What people are saying. Thinking. Feeling. Doing. Real life that’s not been scripted into a reel or put together in a perfect caption.

Also this toolbox! And Notion for staying on top of everything.

What have been your greatest learnings with making money and supporting yourself as a creative?
Learning to say my day rate with my chest. I think it’s really hard when you’re starting out as a freelancer to get through a whole new level of imposter syndrome, but you have to know your worth. If you feel like you deserve it, get it.

Advice

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t drown in advertising.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?I’ve been mentored by so many amazing people along the way. If you’re looking to get into advertising as a creative, speak to creatives you’re inspired by. Get them to give you all of their best tips, from the sites they use, to the people that inspire them.

And never stop trying. Don’t listen to recruiters who might tell you that you need to go to ad school. Keep grinding. If you put in the work, it will pay off. Everyone has the right to express their creative voice, no matter who they are or where they come from.

There’s always room for creativity.