"IMAGES OF TAIWAN" AS VISUAL SYMBOLS IN OFFICIAL PROPAGANDA MEDIA DURING THE JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD

抄録

This study investigates the design of official propaganda media during the Japanese colonial period. A historical research method is employed via the examination and analysis of design document to classify the types and methods of use of "images of Taiwan" in the official propaganda at that time. The aim of this study is to understand the main visual symbols of Taiwan used in graphic design during the Japanese colonial period, and find out how the Japanese used "images of Taiwan" in design, through shedding light on the administrative mindset of the Japanese and how they used "images of Taiwan" as tools for publicizing their edicts and promoting their colonial successes abroad. The main result of this research is as follows : (1)The main official propaganda media during the Japanese colonial period included posters, advertisements, postcards, postmarks, etc. (2) Due to the influence of "local color", let the visual symbols of "images of Taiwan" to be the design elements and the official propaganda themes of the most popular at that time. (3) The various themes of visual symbols of "image of Taiwan" in the graphic design at that time include the special animals, plants, buildings, scenic landscapes, folk customs, Taiwanese aborigines, and the map of Taiwan island. (4)The visional symbols mostly had the meanings of "the image of colonial Taiwan" and "the achievement of colonial governance".