Michel Dallaire

[Michel Dallaire sits outdoors, on a public bench.] Michel Dallaire: I think I have a minimalist approach to design. I try to end up with an object that is as simple as possible. I try to be as concise as possible. [An archival video shows Sandra Henderson and Stéphane Préfontaine, the last torchbearers, running to the Olympic Stadium, both of them holding the handle of the Olympic torch.] For example, when I designed the Olympic torch, I wanted to focus on the flame. I saw the object as a tool for transporting a flame. [A photograph shows the torch with its red aluminium handle featuring the Montreal Games logo printed in white. A flame rises from the black upper part of the torch, which has holes around the outside. In a video, Sandra Henderson and Stéphane Préfontaine jointly light the Olympic cauldron.] Voice-over for the video of the ceremony: Flashbulbs are going off all over the… [Michel Dallaire walks along a tree-lined path and smiles, then continues talking from the bench.] Michel Dallaire: People often ask me which object I am most proud of. Ultimately, I put a lot of determination, a lot of enthusiasm, into everything I made. Obviously, some projects are more important, because of their iconic nature, like the Olympic torch, for example. There's no question that hundreds of millions of people saw the Olympic torch. [A series of video images presents Victoria Square on a sunny day, the Quartier des Spectacles, a BIXI bike station, and a bike path.] What I like about design, is the challenge involved. The challenge of creating a design that will initially surprise me. Because if it surprises me, there's a good chance that it will surprise the consumer. [Michel Dallaire stands in front of a line of BIXI bikes parked in a docking station, then continues talking from the bench.] I think that, to be a designer, you have to be very curious. You have to stretch your imagination. It's possible to express strength, sturdiness and, at the same time, elegance. That's kind of what happened with the BIXI bike. When I imagined the BIXI, the first image that came to mind was a boomerang. Because a boomerang always comes back. I incorporated this shape into the frame, and in the end, it has become BIXI's trademark. [A user returns a BIXI bike to a docking station.]