The work aims to excavate the core of national culture, connect Tujia Xilankapu cultural factors with design activities and explore the visual path of Xilankapu cultural factor symbols, to provide diversified methods for carrying forward and inheriting traditional culture. With the Tujia Xilankapu culture in Enshi as the research object, relevant data were collected and identified and classified based on semiotics theory, and then typical Xilankapu cultural elements were extracted as cultural factors to analyze the connotation. The cultural factors with high user perception were screened out through analytic hierarchy process, and the design method was constructed based on semiotics theory and applied in design practice. Based on the semiotics theory, the connotation of cultural factors in Xilankapu was analyzed, the gene map of Xilankapu culture and the model of factor translation were constructed, and the integration and development path of traditional culture and modern design was explored. The study of Tujia Xilankapu culture gene based on semiotics theory can reflect the cultural characteristics of Xilankapu more comprehensively and deeply. In the design activities, the extraction of Tujia Xilankapu cultural genes and the visual design application through relevant methods can provide new ideas for the design of local modern cultural and creative products under the background of cultural and tourism integration, and verify the feasibility of the extraction and application of "cultural factors" in modern design.