Career
After studying as an engineer (1944–1950), Tallon was employed by Caterpillar France and DuPont. In 1953, he joined Technès, the technical and aesthetic studies office founded in 1949 by the father of industrial aesthetics Jacques Viénot, and Jean Parthenay. Being rapidly promoted to Technical and Artistic Director at the agency, he became the sole director after Viénot"s death in 1959.
In 1957 he enrolled at the École des Arts Appliqués ("School of Applied Arts") in Paris, and put in place the first design course in the country.
In 1963, he set up the Design Department of the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris. As a consultant for the United States company General Electric, Tallon designed refrigerators and washing machines and set up the Design Department of the American company.
In 1966, the Téléavia P111 portable television was put on the market against the advice of the Board. lieutenant broke the mould of television design and was a great commercial success with a cult following.
In 1973, Tallon set up the agency Design Programmes.
Brother-in-arms with the LIP watchmakers, he created the Mach 2000 brand of watches and chronometers. In 1974, with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, he created a concept aircraft cabin for Air France. After leaving Euro RSCG, he continued to work independently.
Roger Tallon died on 20 October 2011 after a long period of sickness.
In the transport world, an early Tallon design was the Derny "Taon" motorcycle and he later took on the Mexico City Metro and, for Alstom and the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français, the Corail train and the TGV. Ergonomics, colours, lighting – and everything down to the route maps found in each train. With the couturier Michel Schreiber, he designed new staff uniforms.
The TGV Atlantique project started in 1986, Eurostar in 1987. A new Montmartre funicular saw Tallon conquer the hill of Montmartre in 1991.
In 1994, after several mergers, Tallon"s company and ADSA became Euro RSCG Design.
He has worked on Texan and Canadian high-speed trains, double-decker TGV trains for France, the Paris Métro project Météor, the VAL 208 for Matra, and the new branding for Finnish Railways.