What Is a Redline Markup?

A redline markup is your own plan returned with the findings marked onto it. A pin sits at each element that needs attention, and the number it carries is what links it to the finding in your written report. Shape and color rank how much a finding costs you to leave alone. Take the marked-up plan back to whoever drew it.

What Is a Redline Markup?

A redline markup is a copy of your original design plan with professional annotations added directly on top of it. The term comes from the traditional practice of using red ink to mark corrections on architectural and engineering drawings, a convention that's survived into the digital era.

When you receive a redline markup from Design Glance, you're getting your original plan back with specific issues pinned, dimensioned, and explained in a format you can hand directly to your store designer or contractor.

The Anatomy of a Redline Markup

Numbered Pins

A numbered pin placed at a specific element (a cabinet, an appliance, a doorway) marks something at that location that needs attention. The number is the link: the same number appears against that finding in your written report, where it is explained in full.

This is the most common annotation type. Where you see a pin, that's where something needs to change.

Dimension Lines

A dimension line is a line with tick marks or arrows at each end, with a measurement noted in the middle. Dimension lines are used to show the current dimension and, often, what it should be.

For example: a dimension line showing 36" between two facing countertops, with a note reading "42" min recommended, increase aisle width" tells you exactly what the problem is and how much it needs to change.

Text Notes

Text notes appear throughout the markup explaining specific findings. They range from brief ("confirm this appliance width with your supplier") to more detailed explanations of why something matters and what to do about it.

Color Coding

A Design Glance markup ranks each finding by how much it costs you to leave alone. Color and pin shape both carry that ranking:

• Terracotta circle, Conflict: will cause a functional failure or a costly change order. Fix this one.
• Green rounded square, Improvement: a better solution exists, or an optimization opportunity.

Shape carries the same meaning as color on purpose. Printed in greyscale, terracotta and green flatten to a similar grey, and a grey pin beside a grey pin tells you nothing; a circle beside a rounded square still does. Conflicts and improvements are each numbered from 1, so two pins can legitimately both read 3.

If your review covers storage, those findings use a blue pin, carrying a letter rather than a number wherever a letter code applies.

The same colors and labels appear in the legend printed on your PDF report, so the markup and the report always say the same thing.

How to Read Your Markup

Start with the written summary. Before diving into the marked-up plan, read the accompanying written report, which explains each finding in plain language. The report gives you the full picture; the markup shows you exactly where on the plan each issue is located.

Then work through the plan systematically, room by room, wall by wall. For each annotation:

1. Find the element being referenced on the original plan 2. Read the annotation to understand what the issue is 3. Note what change is being recommended 4. Mark it on your list for discussion with your store designer

How to Use It With Your Store Designer

The most effective approach is to bring the marked-up PDF to your next appointment and walk through each finding together. Say something like: "I had this plan professionally reviewed and they found a few things I'd like to address before we finalize the order."

Store designers are generally receptive to this. A professionally documented finding, with a specific code reference or dimension note, is much easier to act on than a general concern. Most revisions can be made in a single follow-up session.

If any finding is unclear, or if you're not sure what a particular annotation means, reply to your delivery email and we will explain it in writing (Complete Glance also includes a 30-minute discovery call, but that happens before the review rather than after it).

What the Markup Doesn't Replace

A redline markup is a professional review of your plan, not a new plan. It identifies what needs to change; your store designer makes those changes in their design software. In most cases, revisions based on a Design Glance markup can be made by your store designer at no additional cost, since you're modifying an existing plan rather than starting from scratch.