Gunther Kress's social semiotic theory of communication emphasises the roles of the initiator (providing prompts for a recipient) and recipient of communication (interpreting the prompt), and of the use of multiple modes.

An important question is, what is communication? It is more complex than we imagine, only happening in response to a prompt and when a recipient's attention is sufficiently engaged to interpret the prompt.

Gunther Kress defines a ‘mode’ as 'a socially shaped and culturally given semiotic resource for making meaning'. This article explains what this means.