Thats a reflection of the state of the section. In reality, a huge number of the projects being advertised there are messy and unprofessional and it may be favourable if that sticks out from the topic title.
Using obtrusive designs to make ones project more attractive is a poor tactic and doesn't work, however it has become the norm in that section.
I personally will not mind if icons were removed from titles, but I guess there are a couple of users who use it in their posts without abusing it.