Icons: It was of course better when the icons did not need to be fitted into a rounded square. Darkish icons are boring. The original Pages & Keynote icons could be have been improved upon and partly was (though the new ones are unclear and boring). Mostly the original icons are still the most functional.
Hopeless to explain this (iWork) confusion … a little late to warn users of upgrading if they are already updated to the latest current branch with nag screens. Guess most people will end up having both versions among their Apps forever. Few would pay anything as AI and templates so far is next to completely useless – never heard of anyone ever using an Apple template in any program … (I played with them once or twice). AI will be more relevant over time, but guess few will pay for it unless they can make money on using it.