The imagology is a new science, whose name suggests its meaning, however, this is more complex than it appears to be, has ties with intimates very different sciences, especially the humanities. Just as the administration has been developed based on human needs, the concept of public image, whether personal or organizational, has been gaining importance, so the need to train professionals in this area arose, this together, that the market was saturated with professionals with the same careers, leading to the creation of the Imagology line, with studies ranging from bachelor's to doctorate.
Imaging concept
The word Imagology starts from two Latin roots: image, which means image, figure, representation or appearance of a thing, and the lodge, a term that means study, science, or expression of something, so it can be said that this branch of Knowledge is the science that studies in the image, more extensively, it analyzes the image of people or institutions, using a set of instruments and tools that allow defining the desired or suggested profile so that it can project and be perceived with positive results, supporting verbal communication and non-verbal communication, now, an image of the representation, similarity or mental appearance that the subject performs on some object or person.
A graduate in Imagology studies subjects such as personality psychology, strategic marketing, applied image sociology, principles of graphic identity design, fashion history, image language, semiotics of public image, physical image, information law, nutrition and health, image aesthetics, business management and ethics, with which it can be seen that this science is supported by many others, creating very close relationships with linguistics, psychology, communication, anthropology, biological, semiology, design, art history and culture; An expert in Imaging can develop strategic thinking in the public image, acquiring image design skills of people, institutions, brands, products and companies. (Left, 2010)
The author, Victor Gordoa, points out, in synthesis, of so many image meanings, that basically the image is perception, in turn this concept can be defined as "the inner sensation that results from a material impression made in our senses", perceiving means that We give meaning to each sign that is presented to us on the way.
So it can be said that the image is a result and something is caused, it is the effect of one or more causes, it will produce a value judgment in who conceives it, giving a subjective reality, this judgment drives an individual action, either accepting to reject what is perceived, when this individual image is shared by a public or group of publics, it becomes a collective mental image, thus giving way to a public image. (Gordoa, Imagology, 2008)
Public image
It is the image that is projected towards the community, becoming an integral element of public opinion, it is what is known as "public image", according to the author Víctor Gordoa, it is a perception shared by several members of a group, whose criteria they are unified and the image is considered as a result of the situation, it can be presented in two ways: individual or personal, which includes the physical image, professional image and verbal image; and the organizational group image, what does it have to do with the visual image, the audiovisual image and the environmental image?
The three key factors that internal public image are verbal communication, non-verbal communication and mixed stimuli.
Verbal stimuli: they generate perception through the word in any of its forms, oral or written, they can be produced and transmitted by any means according to their nature.
Non-verbal stimuli: they are those that generate a perception through resources other than words, they are more difficult to control than the previous ones, their creation and management requires specialized preparation.
Mixed stimuli: are those that generate perception through the emission of the stimuli described above together, generally non-verbal stimuli modify verbal ones, either supporting or contradicting them. (Gordoa, The Power of the Public Image, 2007)
Image axioms
An axiom is a preposition or statement so evident that it does not need to be verified. The axioms proposed by the author Gordoa are listed below.
This first axiom invites reflection on the fact that we all have to be perceived by someone, so we are invited to be real and control our image according to the results we wish to obtain.
How the explanation is explained causes as a consequence an action of acceptance or rejection, all channels of perception are important, however, the sense of sight is the channel through which most stimuli enter, both people and institutions must give more importance to visual stimuli to achieve the desired result.
Scientific studies propose that between five seconds and a maximum of 12 the brain decodes the stimuli, here is the importance of building a correct first impression that will remain engraved in the mind of the perceiver.
Some studies propose that some functions of the brain, especially those related to decision-making skills, are governed mostly by emotions than by reason.
The image needs constant vigilance, adapting to the current requirements of each one of the people or organizations, therefore, a deteriorated image can be improved, and in turn a well-worked image can be ruined by unforeseen events that harm it.
The construction of an image must not be equated with falsehood, the first condition that must be fulfilled by everything that the consultant who boasts of being professional, gums of the client and to be able to do it, first has to learn to recognize it.
The image of each organization person must take the measurement and must consider particular characteristics of the client: cultural, temporal, spatial, economic, social, etc., and also the general characteristics of the audience to which the impact of this image is directed, reason why it can be said that the image is conditioned by the context that each case has. The image creation process is rational and therefore requires a methodology.
There is a methodology to create an image, it is about provoking emotion in an audience through the use of the reason of a work team, realizing their knowledge, creativity and sensitivity among other important aspects for the correct creation of an image, whether personal or corporate.
The image must extend an integral process that does not leave out any of the elements that generate perception, coherently establishes all the verbal and non-verbal stimuli that the person or institution emits within its particular context.
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It will always take longer and it will be more difficult to rebuild an image than to build it from scratch.
A negative image can be reconstructed, however it will take more time, budget and effort than creating a new institution, for example, the image of the PRI and the Mexican police, have been images that have caused people's anger at repeatedly received stimuli.
A good image brings many benefits: increased security, increased confidence level, achievement of credibility, which will optimize the overall performance of competing. So a good public image gives power and added value to the brand, institution or person.
We human beings have a mechanism that allows us to blend in with the group, so, in the case of institutions, whoever controls the entire institution affected by their way of being, for example, if the owner is arrogant and despotic directors of the entire institution It will be perceived with the same characteristics, hence part of the enormous importance that it will have first to work on the image of the owner to from there go to the entire institution.
Once created in the image of an institution, everyone who is a member of it will be you who have been in the same way, for example, Mexicans formed an image of the PRI after being governed almost 70 years by it, receiving negative stimuli, murders, family traditions, lovers, corpses and seasoned with one of the worst economic crises of the century, it is possible to think that not all the PRI governments have done bad things, but people did not care about the reasoning, integrating the set of governments to a single opinion. (Gonzalez, 2012)
Public image engineering process
It is the set of knowledge and techniques that allow applying scientific knowledge. To the emission of stimuli that will bring about a change in perception towards a person or institution, a student of the subject will know that not only simple intuition, good taste, built a good public image, In reality, the professionals of the Imagology approach topics about clothing, knowledge and behavior.
Literature tells us that in order to make an image, knowledge, creativity, sensitivity, respect for the essence of the client and a methodology are needed. How can you notice all the skills required to create an image are not innate without learning, methodology is the way to avoid risks and optimize results by following a series of steps, it is in charge of governing and giving cohesion to the actions to be carried out in a few words organizes the work. The author proposes a process baptized as an intimate system, which has multiple and subsequent stages, each with a clearly stated objective, consisting of four stages that will be described below.
It is the source of information for the client, it is verified in the perception that, of our client in its target groups, it is carried out in two internal and external directions.
Internal research is intended to know the perception of those who collaborate with our client, while external research seeks to know the perception of the target groups that do not depend on our client, for example, customers, suppliers and competition, and in a person it can be given as an example to the media and related authorities.
This stage culminates with the public image master plan, the stimuli that are generating problems in perception are analyzed and their possible solutions are considered.
The public image master plan is a document that contains the image strategies designed to solve the perception problems of a person or organization, encompassing all the images that must be contemplated: the physical image, a verbal image, the visual image, the audiovisual image, professional image and environmental image, the purpose is to convey a message of coherence of the image they will transmit with the essence of the client.
It is the idea of materializing ideas, although the public image consultant must have a deep knowledge of how to carry out all the recommendations, he does not like then as the todologist, so Outsourcing or outsourcing is increasingly popular.
Some of the hired professionals carry the following specialties: opinion research agency, advertising agency, public relations agency, promotion agency, direct marketing agency, traffic design firm, photo studio, video production company, design firm of interiors, event producer, scenography producer, audio and lighting producers, dental cosmetician, plastic surgeon.
It is important to mention that we say more without words, by this we mean that non-verbal stimuli are as important as verbal stimuli or even more so, initially obtaining as a result the acceptance or rejection of our audience.
There is the revision stage of the decisions made, a new investigation must be carried out and compared with the original, these results will be compared and it will be verified if the correct or incorrect path is chosen, not in such a way that we can timely introduce the fixes. Likewise, it serves to control the image and monitor the methodology, in such a way that it becomes an endless circle since the evolution of the final stage becomes a new mind in the initial stage, making new designs, and so on.
Personal image
Perception that a target group has about an individual through which an identity will be granted. For example, the image of a political candidate, the image of the CEO of a company, the image of our spouse, etc.
Institutional image
It is the perception of a target group towards a moral person, who will grant an identity to it. For example, the image of a political party, the image of a company, the image of any type of association, etc.
It is relevant to comment that both terms personal image and institutional image are intimately linked, since one takes features of the other and vice versa, These two large groups are not created by themselves, to exist they need the confusion of other images that are going to give them body and which the author calls subordinate, these are: the physical image, the professional image, the verbal image, the visual image, the audiovisual image and the environmental image.
Physical image
Perception that you have of a person by your target groups as a consequence of their appearance or body language, I go to various disciplines such as chronometry, anthropometry and body language.
Professional image
The professional image is the perception of a person or institution by its target groups as a consequence of the performance of their professional activity, it is supported by the protocol used and the crisis management of the subject or organization.
Verbal image
It can be defined as the perception that one has of a person or institution by its target groups as a consequence of the use of the word, whether oral or written, requirements that every good message must meet are simplicity, knowledge, brevity, order and conviction.
Visual image
It can be defined as the perception that a person or institution has by its target groups as a consequence of the use of stimuli directed to the sense of sight, opens the way for stimulation in audiences through the use of photographs, shapes and colors, signs, symbols, packaging, promotional items such as information materials such as catalogs, brochures, instructions, etc., as well as all those visual elements that may represent the image of a person or institution.
Audiovisual image
It is the perception that one has of a person or institution on the part of its stakeholders as a consequence of the use of stimuli directed to the different senses, for example, that of sight or hearing, either simultaneously or separately. The disciplines specialized in advertising, propaganda, audio and video production and music production find fertile ground in this field for their development and are used in the creation of a convincing public image. How to notice the audiovisual image has been adapted to all the technological changes that occur with
day.
Environmental image
Finally, the environmental image is the perception that one also has of a person or institution on the part of its target groups as a consequence of the use of the stimuli emanating from its settings, it is supported by tools such as color psychology, lighting, music and aroma.
Image audit
A public image consultant performs it through direct observation and rests the specialized knowledge of the person who performs it, reviews personal, verbal, professional, visual, audiovisual and environmental stimuli that the client is voluntarily involuntarily emitting to evaluate them and know in them the successes and errors that may be influencing a negative or positive perception of the interest groups. (Gordoa, The Power of the Public Image, 2007)
Conclusions
As it was possible to analyze throughout this article, Imagology is a recent science of great impact, with this you can build the desired public image according to the interests of the individual or organization and its stakeholders, managing to obtain the perception that is request, landing on a sought acceptance, is of relevance as stated above for all individuals in society, and also for companies of all types and sizes, it relies on various sciences which makes its study complex, but if it is Well analyzed it will give fruitful results, finally it is necessary to remove the judgment that it is only about image, referring to clothing, hairstyle and makeup, but to know and review that it also involves the study of behavior and the way we communicate.
Bibliography
Gonzalez, B. (07 of 09 of 2012). Imaging. How the public image is built.
Obtained from Imagology. How the public image is built:
biancagonzalez.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/imagologia-como-seconstruye-la-imagen-publica/
Gordoa, V. (2007). The power of the public image. Mexico DF: Debolsillo.
Gordoa, V. (2008). Imaging. Grijalbo.
Left, J. d. (07/07/2010). Imaging. Obtained from Imagology:
imagologiajorge.wordpress.com/2010/07/20/hello-world/
Thanks
To CONACYT for promoting the professional development of young people, to the Technological Institute of Orizaba for developing programs of excellence, to Dr. Fernando Aguirre, for giving rise to each of his students the interest in research and continuous training, to God, to my parents and family, for their unconditional support in every step of my life.
