So lack of color knowledge doesn’t necessarily inhibit the communication value
of a map. Perhaps you hit on a good color scheme without thinking about it or did
a just good enough job. Perhaps the bar is set so low that nobody expects a profes‑
sional‑looking product. That said, there are, in fact, many ways in which a lack of
color knowledge could wind up costing the map more than just pleasing visuals. For
example, the Five Shades Are Enough Already section of this chapter deals with
the problem of maps that have too many shades of the same color. This can leave a
map viewer completely unable to match the colors used in the map to the colors in
the legend