Restricting the Semiotic Palette

I've been thinking about what would have to happen for me to produce an article for a scholarly journal. I can't just take an excerpt of my thesis and send it along because journals restrict the semiotic palette. I'm limited to the font of their choice, and only one font. There are no pictures or colours. That means everything has to be done through words, and only words.

It's possible; I've done it before. And I suspect that money is part of the issue, although I also suspect that the innate conservatism of scholary journals dictates that no effort is made to innovate semiotically.

I feel caught between how I want to and can communicate information and concepts and knowing that I must work in an limited medium. I used to think that scholarship was all about exploring the the novel, about seeing possibilities and connections. I know there are some pockets where this happens, but it's like I have to wear a girdle and gloves and a navy-blue uniform instead of the comfortable but professional clothes that allow me to focus on my work without energy draining into a useless, limiting formality.