Question

A rural hospital uses the following icon system to depict Male, Female, Cardiology, Casualty, Ophthalmology and Neurology. The hospital then decides to expand, and opens four new wards which are as follows: \begin{itemize
COVID-19 Isolation Ward
Cancer Ward
Paediatric (Children) Ward
Maternity Ward
Create icons for these four wards using only BLACK colour. All icons should follow the same visual language. Draw the icons in squares provided in the answer booklet.}
Evaluation criteria:

Consistency with given examples
Composition
Clarity of communication

Hint:

When designing icons to fit an existing set, the most important rule is consistency. Before you draw, write down a list of the design rules you can observe from the examples (e.g., "uses human figure," "uses negative space," "no fine lines"). Then, make sure your new designs follow all those rules.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The task is to expand an existing icon set. This requires analyzing the "visual language" of the given icons and then applying that language to create new, thematically appropriate icons. Visual language refers to the consistent use of style, shapes, line weight, and composition.
Step 2: Approach and Guidelines - Analyzing the Visual Language:
First, let's deconstruct the existing icons:

Style: Flat, 2D, high-contrast, minimalist silhouettes.
Color: Solid black on a white background.
Subject: Most icons are based on a simplified human figure or a relevant organ.
Technique: Clever use of negative space is a key feature (e.g., the heart in the Cardiology icon, the brain waves in Neurology).
Composition: The main element is centered within the square frame.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation - Designing the New Icons:
Based on the analysis, here are approaches for the new icons, keeping the visual language consistent:

COVID-19 Isolation Ward:

Concept: The icon needs to convey both the virus and the idea of isolation.
Execution: A simple human silhouette could be shown inside a house or a box shape to represent isolation. To represent COVID-19, a simplified, stylized virus shape (like the spiky ball) could be placed in negative space on the figure's chest, similar to the Cardiology icon.

Cancer Ward:

Concept: The icon should represent the fight against cancer. The awareness ribbon is a universally recognized symbol.
Execution: A simple human silhouette with a cancer awareness ribbon created using negative space on the chest area. This maintains consistency with the Cardiology icon's style.

Paediatric (Children) Ward:

Concept: Needs to represent children's health.
Execution: Instead of a single adult silhouette, the icon could show a silhouette of an adult and a child standing together. Alternatively, a single, smaller silhouette of a child (with proportions like a larger head relative to the body) could be used. A simple toy block or teddy bear shape could be incorporated.

Maternity Ward:

Concept: Represents pregnancy and childbirth.
Execution: Use a silhouette of a pregnant woman. This is a very clear and universally understood symbol. The style should match the existing 'Female' icon but with a modified profile to show pregnancy. This would be a very strong and consistent design.


Step 4: Final Answer:
The final submission should be four black-and-white icons in the provided squares. Each icon must be a simple, clear silhouette that communicates its meaning and stylistically matches the six examples given.

Answer 2

A more systematic way to keep the four new icons consistent with the existing six is to build them on a shared measurement grid, the way professional pictogram sets are made, rather than matching them by eye alone.

Look at the six given icons and estimate a simple grid that fits them, for example treating each icon's square frame as divided into an 8 by 8 grid of equal cells, then check where the key parts of each existing icon (head, shoulders, symbol) land on that grid, such as the head sitting inside the top 2 rows and centred on the middle column.
Use this same 8 by 8 grid for all four new icons, so the head, body width, and margin from the frame edge land in the same grid cells as the existing six icons.
Keep the stroke or fill thickness the same across all ten icons by comparing how many grid cells wide each of the existing icons' strokes appears, and matching that exact width in the new icons.
Design the new icons' negative-space cutouts (the isolation box, the awareness ribbon, the small figure, the pregnant silhouette) so that each one sits inside the same central grid region used for the Cardiology heart cutout and Neurology brain-wave cutout in the original set.
Once all four icons are drafted on the grid, place all ten icons side by side at a reduced size to check that they read at a glance with the same weight and clarity, since pictograms are often viewed small.

Building the new icons on the same underlying grid as the original six is what keeps the whole set feeling like one family rather than four icons that were only matched by eye.