DOI: 10.11648/j.ijhpebs.20261201.12 ISSN: 2575-5765

A Multimodal Discourse Interpretations of Selected HIV/AIDS Health Awareness Posters

Olowu Ayodeji, Aminu Segun, Olugbenga Tope
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This study examined Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) awareness posters through the lens of Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), investigating how visual, textual, and spatial elements converge to communicate public health messages. Drawing on an established social semiotic framework, the research analysed seven purposively selected posters from diverse organisational contexts which include governmental health agencies, international NGOs, and community-based advocacy organisations to explore how colour, typography, imagery, and layout interact to construct meaning and potentially influence audience perception. The analysis revealed that effective HIV/AIDS posters employed strategic combinations of semiotic resources to challenge stigma, promote testing, and encourage behavioural change. Findings indicate that the interplay between visual metaphors and linguistic choices significantly shaped message reception, with culturally resonant imagery and empowering narratives proving most semiotically effective. Three primary intersemiotic relationships were identified across the corpus: complementarity, elaboration, and tension. The most successful materials achieved complementarity, where visual and verbal modes reinforced one another coherently, while less effective materials exhibited modal tension. The study further demonstrated that typographic hierarchy, colour symbolism, especially the polysemic use of red and spatial organisation collectively function as meaning-making resources that extend well beyond aesthetic considerations. The AIDS ribbon emerged as a consistently deployed iconic symbol, accumulating layers of advocacy meaning across multiple posters. Conversely, materials that marked human bodies with disease nomenclature risked perpetuating the very stigmatising discourses they ostensibly sought to challenge. This multimodal approach offered valuable insights into health communication strategies, demonstrating how understanding the orchestration of multiple semiotic modes can enhance public health campaign effectiveness. The study contributes to both multimodal discourse theory and practical applications in health communication design, with implications extending to broader public health promotion contexts requiring sensitive, culturally appropriate, multimodal messaging.

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