We explain what an image is, its functions and characteristics. Also, what are corporate, personal and public images.
What is the image?
An image is understood to be the visual representation of something or someone, that is, a figure or illustration that resembles something, that reflects the appearance of something, be it real or imaginary, concrete or abstract. We generally call images nowadays Photographs, the paintings, the illustrations or the works of graphic design, as well as the statues and, also to the reflection of the mirror.
The word image comes from Latin imago, translatable as "copy" or "imitation". Since our species is linked to the world mainly visually, it is closely linked to what we capture from the reality through our senses, and even with the thought same.
That is why we speak of imagining or mental images, for example, to refer to the projections we make of things or situations in our mind; And in those cases, the image can encompass much more than the simple appearance of things.
In fact, the term "image" is used in a large number of contexts different, and artistic disciplines such as painting, photography and even literature they handle it their way. On the other hand, fields of study such as Visual Culture or Visual Studies aspire to build a knowledge properly related to the image, in general, and our understanding of it.
Image functions
An image can fulfill, according to its nature and its role in our society, with different functions or communicative tasks, similar to the so-called Language functions by Roman Jackobson. In many cases, they meet several at the same time. These functions are:
- Representative function. It takes place when the image serves to allude to its referent, that is, when it is a information concrete with respect to the represented reality, as it happens with a photograph or a portrait, in which we must understand the image as a kind of testimony of what there is or what there was.
- Symbolic function. The symbolic role of the image is one that is arbitrarily connected or linked with the cultural baggage of those who contemplate it, acquiring meanings and connotations that at first glance are not found or are not evident to anyone, but that lend themselves to specific interpretations depending on subjectivity and culture. For example, certain pictorial representations (paintings) are associated with sadness or melancholy, such as autumn, and a painting of an autumn meadow is surely interpreted as a sad stage of life, and not as a simple reference to the existence of meadows autumnal in the world.
- Semantic function. In this case, the content of the image is put at the service of the transmission of a specific meaning, as occurs in traffic signs or other icons and signs visuals whose correlation in a system of values and senses is unique, clear and specific.
Corporate image
When talking about the corporate image or business image of a organization, allusion is made to the specific way in which a business presents itself to its audience and its competition, that is, the message and the values that you decide to embody or transmit with your brand, and to which the public consumer it will be more or less receptive.
The corporate image is very important in times of open capitalist competition, typical of the consumer society. Organizations must distinguish themselves, project different messages, and try to convince their customers that they are not only an organization that sells products or services, but they also defend a vision of the world, a sense of business or a series of social values, cultural and economic.
Thus, corporate image specialists help organizations to find the right message for their audience, and to understand the aesthetic and symbolic dimensions of their advertising management and their politics facing the public.
For example, a corporation that is irresponsible with environmentYou will surely see your public image greatly diminished, since you may be accused of irresponsibility with supreme ecological values that are indispensable for life in general.
Personal image
The personal image or self-image is the personal representation that we have of ourselves, both in the appearance and in the deep aspects. Self-image is closely linked to self esteem and with personal valuation, and consists of a mental projection that is often difficult to change, even when it is a wrong or unreliable representation of who we really are.
The personal image can be understood as a “mental photograph” of ourselves, and based on it, the way in which we communicate with others is always defined. The latter is key, since the opinion of others and the idea that we make of it are factors that have a significant impact on our image of ourselves.
Many times we think that we are in a certain way or we feel that we are perceived in some way, and we are surprised to find the opposite in the mouths of third parties. This is because our self-image is not necessarily true to reality.
In the corporate and work world, in addition, the term "personal image" is used as a form of personal projection, of a message that we send to the environment, regarding who we are. Our way of dressing, our manners, our diction, are aspects that make up the image we give to others, and that in some way define what they may think of us, or the way they decide to interact with us.
Public image
Public image is a field of image studies that can be a bit vague, since it includes both personal image and corporate image. That is, it focuses on the communication and in the way messages are configured visually.
The governments They refer to public image, for example, to talk about the way they are perceived by their electorate and try to predict the way in which the society will react to your messages. On the other hand, a company will understand by its public image, precisely, its corporate image.
The field of public image can be defined as the way in which an organization or an individual makes themselves manifest in the public sphere, that is, how they choose to communicate with others and what set of values, traits and characteristics they transmit to them.