Remembering Stuart Braxton

A brilliant thinker, deeply human

I first met Stu in 2018. At the time, I’d been looking for someone who could help me work on building out Smudge’s brand proposition. I’d kept putting off thinking about marketing, culture, and communication partly because I didn’t know where to start. In Stu, I found not only a brilliant colleague, but a beautiful and tremendous friend.

Stu was an incredibly experienced leader in all of these fields. He spent almost 20 years in Apple's Marketing Communications group, and since coming to New Zealand had become an advisor and board member for brands such as Barkers Men's Clothing, Max Fashions, Mons Royale and Coffee Supreme, as well as working closely with NZTE.

I’m so thankful to have found Stu to help us walk this journey. He was instrumental in helping us understand what makes Smudge unique, what we care about, and how we present ourselves to the world. He helped us articulate the importance of balance in software design, a concept that resonates strongly with everyone who has ever had to navigate trading off a long list of competing demands.

Stu was a dear friend to me, and so many at Smudge

He was there for us in tough times, supporting us in so many ways. When we heard of his sudden death on Sunday 11th August, along with shock and grief came an outpouring of stories about times he made our lives brighter and better.

His great compassion and genuine interest in other people shone through, from the period he ran professional development sessions with our team, to the meaningful conversations that ranged far beyond work.

Stu played an intrinsic part in shaping the values and intention-led design we follow day-to-day. His way with words means he’ll always be around at Smudge, even now he himself is gone. We will miss him terribly, and we were all extremely fortunate to have him in our lives.

Here’s to you Stu. Thank you for your warmth, generosity, intellect, and love.

Reuben