How did a single school invent the modern professions of industrial and graphic design? In this concluding part of their conversation, William and Luis dive into the "allied arts" of the Bauhaus—from typography and weaving to color theory and furniture. The duo contrasts the rigid, classical education of the past with the radical, emotive teaching methods of masters like Johannes Itten, who urged students to "draw what they felt" rather than what they saw. They also tackle the "sameness" of the modern International Style, the "bag of tricks" used by Mies van der Rohe in the Barcelona Pavilion, and how software has transformed visualization into construction.

William and Luis explore the profound and lasting legacy of the Bauhaus, a school that lasted only 14 years but effectively "wrote the rules of the future". The discussion begins with the physical experience of walking through ancient European cities versus modern North American ones, leading into a deep dive on how the wreckage of World War I birthed a radical new way of being human through design. The pair dissects the shift from the highly ornamented styles of the Neoclassical and Art Deco periods to the "less is more" philosophy of Mies van der Rohe. They also examine the economic and marketing forces that allowed the "International Style" to spread across the globe—driven by the prestige of American industry and the efficiency of new materials like glass, steel, and the curtain wall.

What makes design more than just construction or basic problem-solving? In this inaugural episode, co-hosts William and Luis reflect on their shared origins at McGill University in the late 1960s, growing up in households dominated by architecture, and the winding career paths that followed—from graphic design and legal practice to housing and research.

Together, they explore what distinguishes true design from mere utility, how constraints shape creative solutions, and why seeing the world through a design lens is a lifelong pursuit.

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