Gestaltung primarily describes an intervention in an environment
Gestaltung primarily describes an intervention in an environment that deliberately transforms it. The transformation can occur in concrete, perceivable objects such as spaces objects, or processes, or in theoretical constructions such as lifestyle, or politically designed social structures.
Gestaltung is mainly the conscious modification of the visual aesthetics of objects, information, and so on, or the means of giving something an abstract, two- or three-dimensional form. The term refers to a strategic sequence of actions (the act of or process of designing) or its result (the product, plan, model, presentation, look, or overall design).
The relationship between the English word “design” and the German word Gestaltung is ambiguous. They are often used as synonyms in German, yet there is an important difference. With the onset of factory production in the nineteenth century and the ensuing design of industrially manufactured bulk commodities, the word Gestaltung became a job title, as did the German phrases industrielle Formgebung, Industrie-Entwurf, or Werkkunst, which are all variations on the English phrase “industrial design.” These terms were developed to emphasize the difference between industrial design and the Arts & Crafts.
The English word design was rejected increasingly until the 1970s in non-English speaking countries, because of its associations with banal, superficial product cosmetics (Styling). Yet, over the last few decades in Europe, the term has become internationally established as the name of a profession as well as its object and/or results.
The word “design” has since become a fashionable term that is used and abused in many different areas: designer carpets, designer kitchens, nail design, and so on. Design is a marketing instrument and is implemented as such in every thinkable way, which is why an alternative tendency developed in Germany leading studios and agencies to begin again using the German word Gestaltung to distinguish themselves from pure styling and to refer to the complexity of their profession. Yet in international contexts “design” is still used as an equivalent to Gestaltung.
The term Gestalt found its way into the English due to its associations with the branch of psychology known as Gestalt theory. Gestalt theory is a branch of Gestalt psychology, which is concerned with creating order in psychologically perceptible events.
Gestalt psychology is based on theories developed by the philosopher Christian von Ehrenfels in 1890. He questioned, contrary to the popular atomist trend in psychology, whether breaking up a phenomenon into individual parts would actually lead to scientific conclusions concerning the test subject. He documented the qualities of perception that can be gained by observing the whole.
Von Ehrenfels called these “Gestalt qualities” and propagated holistic observation techniques.