Objects in Icons and Symbols – Class 7 Arts Chapter 15 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 7ArtsChapter 15NCERT book: Kriti - Arts Class 7

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 15 of the NCERT Class 7 Arts book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 15: Objects in Icons and Symbols (Visual Arts)

Introduction

The Visual Arts section of Kriti opens with a verse from the Chitrasutra of the Vishnudharmottara Purana (Ch. 43, shloka 38):

kalānāṁ pravaraṁ chitraṁ dharmakāmārtha mokṣhadam ǀ māṅgalyaṁ paramaṁ hyetada gr̥ihe yatra pratiṣhṭhitam ǁ

Among the arts, painting is the foremost; it bestows dharma, artha, kama and moksha. Wherever it is established, it brings auspiciousness.

Look at the screen of a mobile phone: a clock, a battery, network bars, app buttons. Each small picture gives you information quickly and directly. Such visuals are called icons. In this chapter you learn how everyday objects become icons and symbols, and how they are used in logos, signages and emojis.

Key Ideas

What is an icon?

An icon is a simplified visual representation of an object, place or idea. Icons do not show too many details.

Details are removed from an object to turn it into an icon.

An icon must still be identified quickly, so it keeps clear shapes and only the important details.

Sometimes the silhouette of an object can itself be the icon.

Positive and negative space

Positive space shows the object.

Negative space is the blank space around it.

In the two fork-and-spoon icons, black is positive in one image and negative in the other.

Icons generally have a lot of negative space — this helps the main object stay visible even at very small sizes.

Four ways to draw one object

Contour — an outline; looks transparent; object looks two-dimensional.

Silhouette — a coloured flat shape; looks opaque; object looks two-dimensional.

Shading — captures light and shade through tonal variations; object looks three-dimensional.

Icon — a simplified image with only essential details; looks two-dimensional.

Shading techniques

Cross-hatching uses criss-cross lines. Overlap lines closely for darker tones, loosely for lighter tones.

Stippling uses dots. Place dots close together for darker tones; increase the space between dots for lighter tones.

Measuring while drawing

Keep the object more than 2–3 feet away.

Use your pencil as a measuring tool: place your thumb on the pencil, align it with the object and measure its parts, then mark the proportions on paper.

Keep looking at the object as you draw each part of its contour.

Signage

Signage informs us where a space is and what it is used for — for example an exit sign uses a door, a dining area can use a spoon and fork, and an art room a palette and brush. Signage icons use only characteristic details and only one colour.

Objects as symbols

Symbols have a deeper meaning and represent ideas or emotions. They may not directly resemble what they stand for.

Dharma Chakra — the navy-blue wheel with 24 spokes at the centre of our national flag. It depicts the 'wheel of the law' from the Lion Capital of Sarnath, made in the 3rd century BCE by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. Blue represents the sky and ocean, the wheel represents progress, and the spokes represent the 24 hours of the day.

Swachhata Abhiyan logo — the round spectacles represent Mahatma Gandhi; the bridge of the spectacles is the national tricolour, showing the whole nation uniting for his vision of a clean India.

An icon can become a symbol when it is given more meaning. Someone who cannot make the connection may see the spectacles only as spectacles.

Activities in the Chapter

15.1 Understanding simple icons — spot positive and negative spaces; make stencils by cutting objects out of old newspapers/magazines along their outline, then draw and colour with them.

15.2 Drawing one object in different ways — on five A5 sheets, draw the same object as a contour, a silhouette (plus an optional inverse silhouette), a cross-hatched drawing, a stippled drawing, and finally an icon.

15.3 Icons for signages — choose a school space (entrance, washroom, library, play area…), list its objects, pick the most important one, try the icon in two or more ways, and make the best one on A5.

15.4 Objects as symbols — study the Dharma Chakra and the Swachhata logo; look at logos of companies and institutions and discuss their meanings.

Peer assessment of signages: are there icons, is the information clear, what two qualities did you like, what could improve?

Key Terms

Icon (प्रतीक-चित्र) — simplified picture of an object, place or idea

Symbol (प्रतीक) — image with a deeper meaning

Signage (संकेत-पट्ट) — sign that tells what a space is for

Logo (लोगो/चिह्न) — identifying mark of a company or institution

Positive space (धनात्मक स्थान) — the area showing the object

Negative space (रिक्त स्थान) — the blank area around it

Contour (रूपरेखा) — outline drawing

Silhouette (छायाकृति) — flat, filled shape

Stencil (स्टेंसिल/खाका) — cut-out shape used to trace

Cross-hatching (आड़ी-तिरछी रेखाएँ) — shading with criss-cross lines

Stippling (बिंदु छायांकन) — shading with dots

Tone (तान/छाया-स्तर) — lightness or darkness

Proportion (अनुपात) — relative size of parts

Connect to Your Life

Notice icons on your phone, on roads, in railway stations and in your school. Which ones do you understand instantly? Which logos use everyday objects as symbols?

Common Mistakes

Adding too many details to an icon — it should be simple and quickly recognisable.

Thinking icons and symbols are the same. Symbols carry a deeper meaning and need not resemble the thing they stand for.

Drawing from memory instead of observing and measuring the real object.

Using a different object for each drawing in Activity 15.2 — the same object must be used throughout.

Let's Reflect

Match the terms silhouette, stencil, cross-hatching, stippling, icon, signage and symbol with their illustrations.

If you had to use your icon to communicate information, what would it say?

💡 Key Learning Points

✓An icon is a simplified visual of an object, place or idea that is recognised quickly
✓Positive space shows the object; negative space is the blank area — icons use plenty of negative space
✓One object can be drawn as a contour, silhouette, shaded (cross-hatching/stippling) form or an icon
✓Signages use simple one-colour icons to tell what a space is used for
✓Symbols like the Dharma Chakra carry deeper meanings and need not resemble what they stand for

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Begin with the phone screen: ask students to list icons they see daily and what each means
→Show the two fork-and-spoon icons and let students swap black and white to see positive/negative space
→Insist every student uses the same object for all five drawings in Activity 15.2
→Demonstrate pencil-and-thumb measuring at 2–3 feet before students start their contour
→Let groups design real signages for school spaces and put the best ones up for a week
→Use the national flag to discuss the Dharma Chakra's 24 spokes, colour and history
→Collect logos from packaging and ask: which object is used, and what idea does it stand for?

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student identify positive and negative space in a given icon?
Can they explain the difference between a contour and a silhouette?
Can they show darker and lighter tones using both cross-hatching and stippling?
Can they design a clear one-colour signage icon for a school space?
Can they explain what the Dharma Chakra and the round spectacles symbolise?

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