Sheet IBH-030 · Mark-up convention
Blue line review — how we mark a draft
Blue pencil markup is our default review language. It keeps queries visible without pretending the draft is final.
When a draft returns from first read, you may see sentences struck and replacements suggested inline. That is intentional. We mark like a structural reviewer, not a copy editor chasing polish on a moving target.
Example: we help brands grow faster across every channel we map messages to channels that match the architecture memo [Rev A]
Should the primary audience remain HR directors or shift to line managers per the 12 June workshop notes? Studio noteKeep British spelling in APAC-facing paragraphs unless the client style guide lists American variants.Passages that survive review receive a small circle in the margin on the PDF export. Circled paragraphs are frozen for the next revision unless a new query is logged.
Markup symbols we use
- Strikethrough with red-brown line — proposed deletion
- Highlighted insert — proposed replacement text
- QUERY block — decision needed before next draft
- Margin circle — approved paragraph
- Revision letter — increments A, B, C on the cover sheet
Clients may reply in the same convention or annotate digitally. We merge marks before the next studio pass so nothing is argued twice.
Typographic and colour decisions receive the same markup discipline as prose. Specimens stay pinned until direction is circled. Proofs dry overnight before we photograph them for the handover folder.
Blue line review is not a public workshop. It is a documented pass with named owners. For plain-language context on timelines and meetings, see Plainspeak.
Methods described here; outcomes not promised. Privacy questions: [email protected].
Digital markup uses the same symbols exported to PDF comment layers. We avoid proprietary tools that your team cannot open five years later. Revision letters increment on the cover sheet even when only one paragraph changed — the letter is the audit trail.
Clients sometimes ask us to mark competitor copy for contrast. We decline when it would reproduce copyrighted material unnecessarily. We will mark your draft against your architecture memo instead, which is the relevant comparison.
Blue line passes are not copy-editing for grammar alone. Grammar fixes happen inline without QUERY blocks when they do not change meaning. When meaning shifts, you see a strike and insert pair with a revision mark.
Review turnaround
We return blue line PDFs within the window named in your scope letter — typically three business days for an under-twenty-page memo, five for larger packs.
QUERY blocks block the next studio pass until answered or explicitly deferred with a date. If two reviewers contradict each other, we log both positions and request a named decider.
Markup symbols stay consistent across engagements so retainer folders remain readable years later.
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