You are working on the Go Jdenticon library, a Go port of the JavaScript Jdenticon library that generates deterministic identicons. This library has achieved byte-for-byte identical SVG output with the JavaScript reference implementation, which is CRITICAL to maintain.

Get task #7 from taskmaster and implement the solution:
```
tm get-task 7
```

CRITICAL CONSTRAINTS:
⚠️ MUST run reference compatibility tests after any changes:
```bash
go test ./jdenticon -run TestJavaScriptReferenceCompatibility -v
```
These tests MUST pass - they verify byte-for-byte identical SVG output with the JavaScript implementation.

⚠️ This is a readability improvement task - simplify complex logic while maintaining exact same behavior.

⚠️ This is a code quality improvement project - maintain all existing functionality while improving error handling, performance, and maintainability.

Focus on the specific requirements in the task and ensure your implementation follows Go best practices while preserving JavaScript compatibility.