How to best display read and read/write permissions in a table

Question

Our app consists of different sections (here Section 1, Section 2 etc.) where the users can view and edit their data. The user can also choose to give read or read/write access for each of these sections to other users.

We have to design a new page which acts as an overview of the given permissions. As there are multiple sections and potentially hundreds of users, we have decided to use a table. It will have a pagination with 20 users per page. Please note that the user won't be able to change the permissions on this page, it only serves as an overview (there is a separate process for managing access).

We are trying to find the most efficient way to convey the different types of access and have so far created following design:

Our worries with this design are that:

1. The users may overlook the legend above the table
2. The pen icon is usually associated with write/edit actions, but here it also implies read access, as you can not edit without being able to view. We are not sure if this will be clear for the users
3. We already use a pen icon as an edit button in other parts of the application, although with a different design. The user may expect some edit action behind the icon and click on it

We have also tried following design but weren’t convinced of it as the icons have no meaning on their own and the page may look too cluttered:

Do you have any ideas how we could improve our design?

Answer 1

Read and write are common terms for permissions. If users don't know them you can introduce them in the legend, but they are easy to remember so users don't have to constantly check the legend for their meaning.

If you want to omit the legend entirely you can do something like my attempt below. There are three possible values and to make them easier to scan for, try to introduce some extra visual differences apart from the text itself. Not to say that this is perfect but to give an idea: