diff --git a/qsomap.py b/qsomap.py
index 92fcfbb..a5461d9 100755
--- a/qsomap.py
+++ b/qsomap.py
@@ -272,8 +272,8 @@ def hsv_to_svgstr(h, s, v):
 def assign_country_colors(simplegeodata):
     for k, v in simplegeodata.items():
         hue = random.random()
-        v['polygon_color'] = hsv_to_svgstr(hue, 0.7, 0.8)
-        v['label_color'] = hsv_to_svgstr(hue, 0.5, 0.4)
+        v['polygon_color'] = hsv_to_svgstr(hue, 0.5, 0.9)
+        v['label_color'] = hsv_to_svgstr(hue, 0.3, 0.6)
 
 
 def svg_add_countries(doc, simplegeodata, ref_lat, ref_lon, map_radius):