Graphic Design: Icons and SymbolsActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning helps students connect abstract concepts to real-world examples right away. When learners create and test their own icons, they move beyond passive observation to understand how shapes, colors, and lines work together to communicate instantly.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify common icons and symbols encountered in daily life and explain their purpose.
- 2Analyze how specific colors and shapes contribute to the meaning and clarity of icons.
- 3Design a simple, effective icon representing a concept related to their school or community.
- 4Critique the effectiveness of existing icons based on principles of clarity and impact.
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Scavenger Hunt: Spot School Icons
Students work in groups to walk the school, sketch or note 5-10 icons like exit signs or bin labels, then discuss shapes and colors used. Back in class, groups present findings on chart paper. Vote on most effective examples.
Prepare & details
What is an icon or symbol and where do you see them every day in real life?
Facilitation Tip: During Scavenger Hunt: Spot School Icons, have students work in pairs to ensure everyone notices details like contrast and repetition in icons around the school.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Think-Pair-Sketch: Community Icons
Individuals brainstorm a school or community idea, like 'playtime' or 'healthy eating.' Pairs combine ideas, sketch 3 simple versions, and test by showing to another pair for quick guesses. Refine the best one.
Prepare & details
How do colours and shapes help us understand what a sign or symbol means?
Facilitation Tip: Before Think-Pair-Sketch: Community Icons, model how to break down a symbol into basic shapes before sketching to reduce overwhelm.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Colour Swap Challenge: Icon Meanings
Provide black-and-white icons. Groups recolour them in 3 ways, predict how meanings shift, and share with class. Class guesses emotions or actions from each version.
Prepare & details
Can you design a simple icon that shows something about your school or community?
Facilitation Tip: For Colour Swap Challenge: Icon Meanings, limit the color palette to 3-4 options to focus attention on how hue and tone affect meaning.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Gallery Critique: Student Designs
Students pin up final icons anonymously. Whole class walks the 'gallery,' notes guesses and confusions on sticky notes. Designers reveal and explain revisions.
Prepare & details
What is an icon or symbol and where do you see them every day in real life?
Facilitation Tip: During Gallery Critique: Student Designs, assign roles like 'commenter' or 'questioner' to keep discussions structured and inclusive.
Setup: Groups at tables with case materials
Materials: Case study packet (3-5 pages), Analysis framework worksheet, Presentation template
Teaching This Topic
Teach students to start with the core idea they want to communicate, then strip away anything unnecessary. Use analogies like 'a traffic sign is a whisper, not a shout' to reinforce simplicity. Avoid letting students spend too much time on details before testing their designs with peers.
What to Expect
Successful learning looks like students recognizing how simplicity and clarity make icons effective. They should confidently explain why certain designs work and revise their own sketches based on peer feedback.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Think-Pair-Sketch: Community Icons, watch for students adding excessive details to their sketches.
What to Teach Instead
Provide a quick demonstration comparing a detailed icon draft with a simplified version, then ask students to erase extra lines and test which version peers understand faster.
Common MisconceptionDuring Colour Swap Challenge: Icon Meanings, watch for students treating colors as purely decorative.
What to Teach Instead
Ask students to swap colors between two icons and observe how interpretations change, then discuss which meanings hold and which fade.
Common MisconceptionDuring Gallery Critique: Student Designs, watch for students assuming all icons mean the same globally.
What to Teach Instead
Display examples like the 'OK' hand gesture and discuss its varied meanings, then have students redesign an icon to fit a specific cultural context.
Common Misconception
Assessment Ideas
Present students with 3-4 common icons (e.g., Wi-Fi symbol, recycle symbol, play button). Ask them to write down what each icon represents and one reason why it is effective or ineffective.
Students sketch two initial icon designs for a given concept (e.g., 'library' or 'playground'). They swap sketches with a partner. The partner circles the stronger design and writes one sentence explaining why, focusing on clarity and impact.
Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Imagine you need to create an icon for a new school rule, like 'No running in the hallways.' What shapes and colors would you consider, and why? How would you ensure everyone understands it instantly?'
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask students to redesign a poorly designed icon from a popular app or website, explaining their choices in writing.
- Scaffolding: Provide tracing templates of basic shapes for students who struggle with drawing clarity.
- Deeper: Invite students to research how symbols change across cultures and present one example in a mini-report.
Key Vocabulary
| Icon | A small, simple picture or symbol used on a screen or in a document to represent a program, command, or idea. |
| Symbol | A mark or character used as a conventional representation of an object, process, or idea. |
| Clarity | The quality of being easy to see, understand, or perceive, ensuring the icon's message is immediately clear. |
| Impact | The effect an icon has on the viewer, specifically its ability to communicate a message quickly and memorably. |
| Visual Literacy | The ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of a visual image, essential for understanding icons. |
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