In 1918, the Bauhaus art school was founded on this principle by Walter Gropius and an influential group of artists, and its teachings definitively changed the entire field of visual arts, from Fine Arts to Design.

This phrase means that, before thinking about what will be beautiful or aesthetically pleasing, it is necessary to think about what or who the image is for. There are beautiful but uncomfortable houses, beautiful offices but nothing functional. There are beautiful cups, but difficult to hold. And we see beautiful cuts and hairstyles, which, even making the person beautiful, are not adequate. For example, a young doctor may look beautiful with flowing hair, but she will not be greatly confident in her competence.

When you first think about the function, it will determine how the image should be created, to be adequate, while still being beautiful. The term visagismo, a word derived from visage, which, in French, means face, was created by Fernand Aubry, in 1937, with the aim of aligning the art of creating a personal image with this same concept. However, it was never possible for the hairdresser and makeup artist to apply this concept fully, because they lacked some essential information, mainly about the visual language.

In 1994, Editora Melhoramentos published my book À Mão Livre (Freehand) – the language of drawing, unprecedented in the world because it approaches visual language from the perspective of visual experience and because I presented for the first time my theory of the association of the main elements of visual language, lines, shapes and colors, with Carl Jung's theories about archetypal symbols, and Joseph LeDoux, about the emotional brain. TV Cultura aired, simultaneously and for another 6 years, the series À Mão Livre – the language of drawing. The book was relaunched in 2017 by Editora Senac SP, with new chapters and the title À Mão Livre, the visual language.

My books, Visagism: harmony and aesthetics (Senac SP, 2003) and Integrated Visagism: identity, style, and beauty (Senac SP, 2009) are the only ones that show how this language is applied to the art of creating a personal image. Thus, was created a new concept of Visagism, the Philip Hallawell Visagism, and a new method.

First, it is necessary to understand that every image expresses concepts, sensations, and emotions. The image of a person is constituted by their face shape, their features, their skin colour, their haircut, hairstyle, colouring, their makeup, adornments and, in the case of men, their facial hair. This set literally makes a statement to the world and to the person of who she is, through visual language. That is, through what lines, shapes and colours express, through our perception of weight and lightness, balance, harmony and what other elements are understood to mean.

Everyone has an intuitive understanding of this language, but few know how it really works. It is the oldest and most primitive language of human beings and the first used to understand the world around us. Intuitively we understand what the different lines, shapes, colours, and other elements that make up an image mean. In fact, the process is emotional and not rational, because the main elements, which are lines, shapes, and colours, are archetypal symbols, which, it seems, stimulate primal systems in the limbic area, which generate emotions and physical sensations. That is why we can feel what images convey, but we do not understand it rationally.

People who work with images, including professionals in the beauty field, often have above-average visual intelligence and instinctively know how to handle an image. However, to exercise the Philip Hallawell Visagism, it is necessary to know this language deeply.

This knowledge allows us to analyse the shapes and features of a face and know what they express about a person's personality. More than 5000 years ago the Chinese already realized that a person's temperament is stamped on their face. The Hindus and the Greeks of antiquity made the same observation and that is where Physiognomy was born, which is the art of knowing the temperament of people through their physiognomic features.

With this knowledge, the professional is able, after some practice, to make a very quick reading of his client. In a few minutes he analyses physical characteristics and knows what kind of person he is, essentially, but not how he uses these attributes, whether positively or negatively, nor what his personality or character is like. By talking to her, he will find out more about her: her work, her activities, her style of life, your wants, and your needs. Then you will know what your image should express, to provide you with greater benefits in your relationships, raise your self-esteem and create well-being in general.

In this, a concept is established, that is, the function of the image, and this is the first step in the creative process. But to create the most adequate form, which best expresses this concept, it is necessary to master the use of visual language, knowing and studying its fundamentals: light and shadow, colour, composition, golden proportion, line dynamics and others. The foundations are based on knowledge of optical physics (colour and light), mathematics, geometry, anthropology, and cognitive science, which study how the perception and understanding of the world works.

Beauty is created when the concept conveys a person's qualities - strength, creativity, dynamism, gentleness, or self-control, for example - and when the shape values ​​positive physical characteristics, expresses harmony and is created according to aesthetic principles.

Finally, it is necessary that the professional master the various techniques used in creating a personal image; cut, colour, hairstyle, makeup, and others. In this way, he can direct his work, exercising his skill and creativity, aware of what he is providing his client, without relying on intuition. He will know what the image he wants to create will express and will be able to explain it to his client, almost guaranteeing their satisfaction.

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