Central Saint Martins presents

Make more with less

Dr Tom Karen

in conversation with Dr Stephen Hayward

Tuesday 10 February @ 6:30 pm

Tickets (free) from Box Office

020 7269 1606 or BOOK ONLINE

Dr Tom Karen was born in Vienna in 1926 but spent his childhood in Czechoslovakia. Fleeing from the Nazi occupation in 1939, he came to Britain, via France and Lisbon, in 1942.

He studied aircraft engineering at Loughborough College and spent ten years in that industry before pursuing Industrial Design at the Central School followed by work in Ford's design studio (where he won a national car design competition), David Ogle Associates, Hotpoint and Philips.

He was invited to take charge of Ogle in 1962 following the death of David Ogle in a car accident. Ogle Design became a major UK industrial design of#ce whose activities included design, with engineering and human factors support, model/prototype making and the development and manufacture of mannequins for safety research. They also tackled an exceptionally wide range of products including the Reliant Scimitar GTE, Bond Bug sporty three wheeler, Aston Martin show car, Raleigh Chopper bicycle, Leyland's range of truck cabs and the Kiddicraft marble run.

Now 'retired', Tom sees a need and the opportunities to redesign many products. He gives talks, runs workshops (mostly for young children) and makes toys (the kind you can't buy) for his grandchildren.

Dr Stephen Hayward is a design historian and teaches MA Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins . He is currently writing his forthcoming book The Roots of Contemporary Design.