SANJIESAN LORE / Visual communication
Make faction markers distinct without relying on colour
Two territories can become indistinguishable when a map is printed in greyscale or read by someone who perceives colour differently. W3C guidance advises against using colour as the sole carrier of information. Apply that principle to your own fictional map without inventing new official emblems or changing established identities.
Decide what readers need to distinguish
Choose a particular reading task: identifying which authority controls three ports at one moment in the story. Use the project’s established names and approved symbols where they exist. Do not add a new crest merely because an empty shape looks attractive. If no marker is defined, start with plain geometric shapes and short labels in a working sketch, keeping these communication aids separate from in-world heraldry.
Give each important difference another cue
Pair colour with a distinct outline, a letter abbreviation or a restrained hatch pattern. Avoid making every territory visually noisy. A disputed port can use a specific secondary mark instead of an unexplained blend of two colours. Put the exact symbols used in the map into its key, including the disputed status. The legend should explain the reading task rather than display an ornamental collection of unused icons.
Check the actual page and reading task
View the map at its intended publication size and examine a greyscale copy. Then ask a willing reader to answer the original three-port question. Greyscale alone does not simulate every kind of colour perception, so treat it as one useful check rather than a complete accessibility test. If the answer still depends on memorising near-identical hues, improve the visible labels or shapes before adding more saturation.