iPhone designer Sir Jony Ive pays tribute to Tom Karen - BBC

The antheral who played a pivotal relation successful the improvement of the iPhone has spoken of his admiration for his chap designer, Tom Karen.

Sir Jony Ive's comments followed the decease of Mr Karen connected New Year's Eve astatine the property of 96.

In a connection to the BBC, helium said: "I americium truthful grateful for his encouragement."

Mr Karen, who lived successful Cambridge, worked connected the cult classical Raleigh Chopper, arsenic good arsenic the Bond Bug car and marble tally toy.

He was the managing manager of Letchworth-based Ogle Design until 1999 and was appointed OBE successful 2019.

One of the world's astir celebrated merchandise designers, Sir Jony played a cardinal relation successful the instauration of the MacBook, iPad and iPod arsenic good arsenic a drawstring of different Apple products.

After leaving Apple successful 2019 helium founded what helium called the "creative collective", LoveFrom, which brings unneurotic designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists.

Sir Jony said: "Tom was a wonderfully insightful decorator who gave his clip generously.

He added: "His signifier was optimistic and conspicuously responsible. He perfectly embodied the ideals and values of a procreation of designers that took the work of their assemblage seriously".

He besides said helium fondly remembered the seasoned decorator "showing maine astir his plan institution Ogle erstwhile I was a young boy."

Mr Karen reportedly invited Sir Jony and his begetter to sojourn him astatine the Ogle offices wherever helium encouraged the young decorator to instrumentality with his vocation aspirations.

The precocious concern decorator was calved successful Vienna, Austria and arrived successful England successful 1942 during World War Two.

A depository tally by the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation presently hosting an accumulation dedicated to Mr Karen's work.