diff --git a/src/plane_sync.py b/src/plane_sync.py
index 762cbbb..95e84df 100644
--- a/src/plane_sync.py
+++ b/src/plane_sync.py
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ from .config import settings
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("orchestrator.plane_sync")
 
+# L-3: emoji literals used in Plane comment bodies, named for readability.
+# Message text stays byte-for-byte identical to the previous output.
+EMOJI_STAGE = "\U0001F504"      # stage transition
+EMOJI_QG_FAIL = "\u26A0\uFE0F"   # quality-gate failure
+EMOJI_DONE = "\u2705"           # task completed
+
 PLANE_BASE = f"{settings.plane_api_url}/api/v1"
 PLANE_HEADERS = {"X-API-Key": settings.plane_api_token}
 WORKSPACE = settings.plane_workspace_slug
@@ -194,7 +200,7 @@ def notify_stage_change(work_item_id: str, old_stage: str, new_stage: str, agent
     project_id = _resolve_project_id(work_item_id, project_id)
     update_issue_state(work_item_id, new_stage, project_id)
 
-    msg = f"🔄 Stage: {old_stage} → {new_stage}"
+    msg = f"{EMOJI_STAGE} Stage: {old_stage} → {new_stage}"
     if agent:
         msg += f" (launching {agent})"
 
@@ -232,11 +238,11 @@ def notify_stage_change(work_item_id: str, old_stage: str, new_stage: str, agent
 
 def notify_qg_failure(work_item_id: str, stage: str, check: str, reason: str, project_id: str = None):
     """Notify Plane about QG failure."""
-    add_comment(work_item_id, f"⚠️ QG failed at {stage}: {check} — {reason}", project_id)
+    add_comment(work_item_id, f"{EMOJI_QG_FAIL} QG failed at {stage}: {check} — {reason}", project_id)
 
 
 def notify_done(work_item_id: str, project_id: str = None):
     """Mark issue as Done in Plane."""
     project_id = _resolve_project_id(work_item_id, project_id)
     update_issue_state(work_item_id, "done", project_id)
-    add_comment(work_item_id, "✅ Task completed! PR merged and deployed.", project_id)
+    add_comment(work_item_id, f"{EMOJI_DONE} Task completed! PR merged and deployed.", project_id)