Not very known general public, Roger Tallon, born in 1929, is not only the man of the TGV, he is one of the French designers - can be even the French designer which, very quickly, will locate its career on an international level. It is that which will impose little by little the profession of industrial designer like profession on whole share.
After studies of engineering (1944 to 1950), it coordinates, at Caterpillar-France, the communication technical and commercial then becomes consulting for the European subsidiary companies of Dupont de Nemours.
In 1953, it integrates Technès, technical engineering and design department and esthetics, founded in 1949 per Jacques Viénot - the father of the industrial design* - and Jean Parthenay.
Collaborator clarified, quickly directing technique and artistic of the agency, he will become about it director with dead of Jacques Viénot in 1959.
Teaching since 1957 at the School of the Applied arts of Paris, it sets up the first course of design in France. In 1963, it creates the department design of the National School Higher of Decorative Arts in Paris.

Curious, daring of an incredible acuity vis-a-vis to the signs of the time, Roger Tallon produced, with his team, of 1953 to 1973, more than 400 products. Food processors for Peugeot, the simplissime Veronic Camera 8 mm, without apparent objective, for Sem (the designers of our current numerical apparatuses probably had it in memory!), the turns Gallic 16 and 14 for the Belgian company the World one (a true revolution in the machine tool), a projector of slides for Kodak, the tractors of airports, the lifting trucks for Fenwick, the graphic image of Fenwick-Aviation...
Consultant of General Motors-State-Plain during 7 years, Tallon draws, for its Frigidaire subsidiary company, of the refrigerators and the washing machines and creates the department design of the American company.
In 1966, the portable television set Téléavia P111 is put on the market. The management of the firm had however issued reserves as for the interest of such a product...
This cubic-screen with the round lines introduces a new formal language, a new architecture of the television set: large commercial success, inter alia with the FNAC (born in 1964) which does not hesitate to put the product ahead. The press speaks about it, the name of the designer is quoted, Téléavia is on the way to become a worship object.

This success generates a new type of order for Roger Tallon. It agrees to work for arts of the table: the series 3T (3 for the table) leaves in 1967: forks and spoons, crockery, glasses, conditioned by two. The trade association of the founders wishes to promote the pig iron in other sectors that the radiator and the machine tool and Tallon, their adviser for some time, present on the Batimat living room of 1964, at the CNIT, his first furniture out of cast iron. One sees there for the first time the helicoid staircase and the series Module 400** published later by the Lacloche gallery.

Tallon côtoie considerable artists, collaboration is done naturally: experiments on the matters, handling of images, put in space of exposures, the designer accompanies in their research Yves Klein, César, Arman... In 1972, Catherine Millet melts Art Press and entrusts to Tallon the graphic system of the review which remains almost the same one to date. It declines for the German industrialist Erco, of the ranges of spots provided with large reflectors, of the halogenous lamps low tension, the products which will be largely copied thereafter. Ski boots for Solomon, brushes with teeth for Fluocaril, range of plastic oil cans for Elf... Tallon creates for all the industrial sectors.
1973, it melts the agency Design Programs. The Lip company is in difficulty and its clock making workmen carry out the combat to safeguard their know-how and their company. Tallon is at their sides and one of most beautiful offers to them and innovating objects of the century: range of watches and stop watches Mach 2000.
First great realization of Roger Tallon in the field of transport, the subway of Mexico City already rolls since 1969, at the same time, the models of the TGV 001 (for Alsthom) are ready. The Corail trains are put in circulation in 1974, first stage of modernization for the SNCF and its travellers - not yet customers or users -. Ergonomics, comfort, color, wiring for sound, lighting, the change are sensitive. But Tallon, "designer of project" above all, impassioned for the rail-bound transports, does not remain about it there. Transforming the image of the SNCF, it develops the visual identity, the descriptive one, the cartography, the adaptation of the international pictograms to the image of the company and, in collaboration with the dressmaker Michel Schreiber, it draws the new uniforms of the controllers.
1984, Roger Tallon melts ADSA + partners with Michel Schreiber and the designer Pierre Paulin. In 1985, the Ministry for the Culture allots the Great national Price of industrial creation to him and in 1992, it receives, of the hands of the president of the SNCF, the badges of Commander of Arts and the Letters.

Atlantic project TGV starts in 1986, Eurostar in 1987. A new funicular signed Tallon climbs the hill of Montmartre in 1991. In 1994, after various fusions, ADSA and Roger Tallon integrate euro RSCG design. He are successively entrusted the programs of the TGV texan and Canadian, the TGV on two levels for France, the project of the Parisian subway Météor, Valley 208 for Matra. The railroads Finnish are equipped with a new identity, of descriptive and of a news delivered for their TGV, Moscow consults for its network of bus, Toulouse and Marseilles for their subway...
2001 are there and there are all, in our daily environment, something conceived by Roger Tallon. It left the walls of Euro RSCS design but there remains designer, apart from any structure. The summer 2001, designer invited by the town of Vallauris and the ministry for the Culture, it offered to us "Picnic", splendid range of dishes and ceramics containers created in the workshop of Salvatore Oliveri.



** to see or re-examine, at the edge of "the swimming pool", in film of Jacques Deray with Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in 1968.