This study addresses the fundamentals of visual language as a communication system, examining its distinctive characteristics compared to verbal language and analyzing the main theoretical frameworks developed for its understanding. Through a critical review of specialized literature, historical tensions between image and word are explored, from Platonic and Biblical proscriptions to contemporary debates on visual literacy. The work develops a comparative analysis between visual and verbal language, identifying structural similarities and fundamental divergences in their modes of signification. Jacques Aumont's theoretical proposal on the plastic space of the image is examined, including aspects such as size, frame, and relationships between spectator space and representational space. The research culminates in an applied semiotic analysis of perfume advertisements, employing the models of Péninou, Baraduc, and Carreto Hernández to examine the iconic, chromatic, and compositional codes of advertising discourse. Results reveal that while visual language lacks the double articulation characteristic of verbal language, it constitutes an autonomous semiotic system with its own signifying capacity, whose communicative effectiveness depends on specific visual reading competencies that our culture tends to underestimate. The study contributes to understanding contemporary visual communication and emphasizes the need to develop specific analytical frameworks that recognize the specificity of visual language without forcing its assimilation to linguistic models.