Vale Linds Redding – art director and animator
The ad industry in New Zealand, England and Scotland will be saddened to hear of the passing of Linds Redding, a hugely talented art director and animator, at the age of only 52.
British born, Linds graduated with a degree in Graphic Design, and launched straight into a career in advertising having been told by a fellow student it was a guaranteed way of getting fabulously wealthy very young. Twenty five years later, he hunted down the person responsible and killed him with a baseball bat and buried the body in the woods.
Linds worked as an art director for several agencies in London and Edinburgh, before emigrating to New Zealand with his family in the mid nineties. He worked for most of NZ’s top creative agencies, Saatchi, DDB, Colenso and The Campaign Palace before leaving agency life at the millennium to pursue his interests in Motion Graphics and animation. For the past ten years, Linds has run a successful animation studio designing and producing TVC’s for the New Zealand advertising industry.
In late 2011, at 51 Linds was diagnosed with inoperable Eosophigal Cancer. He then gave up work to spend his time at home on Waiheke Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf walking, writing, drawing and making music. Up until recently, he was still blogging on the tricky business of living and dying at lindsredding.com
One of Redding’s best articles is titled ‘A Short Lesson in Perspective’.
Absolutely essential reading for everyone in the industry.
10 Comments
A fitting tribute to a lovely and very clever man.
Lindsey, it was a pleasure to have known you, to have gone fishing with you, and to have worked with you. Farewell.
Linds wasn’t just an exceptional art director. His blog (unlike, dare I say it, this one) has been inspirational. The grey skies of London feel that much greyer today.
Sad, sad news. The grey skies of London feel that much greyer today.
Farewell Linds. His blog was full of the most insightful, brave and moving writing. Absolutely required reading for anyone with a heart. A real loss.
Very, very sad news. Linds brought a perspective and insight rarely seen at all, let alone in this industry. An all round exceptional, talented and lovely human being. Condolences to his family and those close. Rest in peach Linds.
The Lindsey Effect – where you re-examine your life and realize it’s time to make some serious changes, before it’s too late.
Thanks mate, you’re already missed.
Great article. I liked the piece about advertising being seen as some higher calling. It’s a job, get over it.
Purely from a financial point of view if you take into account soul destroying placements, redundancies and freelance work, you would have to be a fool to consider advertising as a long term, stable career. There are too many agencies and not enough clients and we wonder why “creatives” are exploited. I have never in my life met so many bullshitters and schemers.
Some comments I remember from a once prominent CD went something like this: “If they’re talented I’ll get them.” Kind of ignoring the reality of budget constraints. Or, I’ve just hired a young copywriter. He’s going to be a star.”
In the end, all work is exploitation to a degree but it’s the life we choose or don’t choose.
Hugely talented, but way more importantly, a great guy.
A typographer and a gentleman.