Roger Tallon

Born in 1929, Tallon is a leading figure in French industrial design in the second half of the 20th century.

Having studied engineering in Paris, he joined Technes design consultancy in 1953.

From 1963, he teached at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, establishing the Department of Design with Jaques Dumond. The creative side of his thinking was underlined by close links with the fine arts, especially the Nouveaux Réalistes. He gained widespread recognition for his transportation design: in 1967 he began a long period of collaboration with French National Railways (SNCF), modernizing their trains.

After Cooper dismissal, Tallon culminated the TGV design for carriage interiors, exteriors, and the visual identity for the whole TGV network. In the early 1990s he became the design director of the TGV Eurostar rail project.