Reworking signs: multi-semiotic hybrids across systems in Chinese environmental posters

The rise of image-reading media has revolutionized environmental communication, particularly through multi-semiotic posters. This study examines how environmental posters produced by the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment enhance the visibility of green strategies through signs and their affordances. Using Peircean semiotics and Hallidayan ordered typology of systems, the author analyses 44 posters containing over 480 signs to identify semiotic hybridization and rhetorical strategies. The article’s multi-semiotic corpus-based approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, reveals how sign-makers adapt signs and design concepts to engage diverse audiences effectively. Results show that the sign types across different systems are motivated by material and immaterial affordances, increasing the semiotic persuasive power of multi-semiotic meaning-making. This study offers insights into the design of environmental communication strategies, demonstrating the critical role of multi-semiotic systems in conveying ecological information to broad audiences.