Above it all 4.0 Pairing it down

Let's get down to the workhorse signifier in a plan: lines.

1. Most abstractly, line in a plan makes a feature distinction between one side and the other, the way in linguistics, a single audio shift (vocalization) makes the difference between pear and bear. 

The bottom distinctive pair is crucial info for an Embarcadero-Telegraph Hill trip.

2. Lines on a plan describe boundaries that will mediate movement and transactions. Like a sieve, a stairway, or a speed-bump, those boundaries affect access to visual, acoustic and spatial events. The flow and behavior of weapons, vehicles, valuables, germs, and creatures, including people are mediated. Line thickness and continuity convey meaning, too. 
The nature of the boundary remains ambiguous until third-dimension data is supplied, usually via elevation, section, annotation or a perspective drawing. 

Student work addressing access & transaction boundaries at a grocery store.

For environmental design, considering plans through these abstract lenses helps to focus on problem-solving without being distracted by particular products or finishes. Next post tries out the most common connector an image makes between viewer and design.