Designer Roger Tallon, Creator of artpress Layout, Dies at 82

Roger Tallon, the French industrial designer who created the iconic layout of artpress magazine in 1972, died on October 20 at age 82. Tallon maintained the magazine's graphic charter unchanged for decades, a philosophy he taught to editor Catherine Millet: the permanence of a design proves a publication's credibility. He continued to participate in cover meetings until his illness, working harmoniously with younger designers. Tallon was a close friend of Yves Klein, assisting in the realization of some works, and collaborated with César, Arman, and Daniel Buren (on the Tours tramway project). In 1967, with Jean-Jacques Lebel, he organized the Festival de la Libre Expression. His retrospective at Centre Pompidou in 1993 highlighted his diverse projects: Lip watches (supporting workers' struggles), the Téléavia television, TGV, Eurostar, SNCF branding, and the Meteor metro line. Tallon worked internationally from General Motors to Finnish railways, Mexico City metro, and Erco lighting. Millet describes him as the most honest person she knew, indifferent to career concerns yet active abroad. His method involved exhaustively examining all data, including pleasure and play, leading to a non-dogmatic functionalism. artpress and Millet owe their identity to his influence.