This study investigated the symbols of “icon of Taiwan” in graphic design in the Japanese colonial period. The authors utilized the theory of Semiotic to analyze the way of communication and application of the symbols of “icon of Taiwan”. A document research method was employed via the arrangement and collection of documents and graphic design works for the comparison and analysis of the symbols of “icon of Taiwan”. In this study, the theory of semiotic of Saussure was used to analyze the signifier and signified of “icon of Taiwan” at that time. Moreover, the semiotic theory of Peirce was employed to deal with the visual symbols classification of the graphic designs, and the manipulation of various kinds of symbols. Then the theory of paradigmtic and syntagmatic of Saussure were used to explore the composition relations of “icon of Taiwan”. Based on Morris’s semiotic theory of denotation, connotation and signification, the visual symbols’ meaning and communication way of “icon of Taiwan” were analyzed. The main findings are as follows: The “ icon of Taiwan” had the “signifier” and “signified” characteristic at that time. Because it was affected by the colonial environment, its image mostly belonged to the “icon” and “index”, and might have features of these two types of images. It was easy to become a design icon, and represented different images at the same time, if it had obviously unique and Taiwan local color characteristic. In addition to the function of “signification”, most design employed “denotation” and “connotation” to make annotation of the icon significance, and strengthened the Taiwan image attribute and the meaning communication in terms of the icon significance mode of formation.