General questions and discussions.

Most spell icons clearly identify their school through their design, and they would simply look inappropriate if they were different.

Well, in this case, we're talking about the fact that what was initially in SoD is already excessively inappropriate – earth spells that are essentially just "opi-opi" and the feeling of being constantly given water instead of what's needed. In terms of magic schools, the strategy is lacking. So, rebalancing spells is a move from a very strong level of inappropriateness to a lesser one.
This move aligns with the overall concept of creating HotA – removing/transforming all sorts of "strange" decisions from SoD to create a ready-made, high-quality product in the style of "sit down and play," without being annoyed by imbalances.
All these changes to scroll weights, neutral creatures – it's all meticulous and very necessary work to balance the game. The same applies to spells.

P.S. I'll read the materials in the links before continuing on this topic.