A few years ago, I was getting coffee with another Creative Director friend of mine. We were talking about how wild it was to just have everyone’s files all the time on Dropbox and the ability to pop into those files at any time (This sounds so quaint now, where we’re all working in the cloud all the time and simultaneously thanks to tools like Figma).

She asked me, “So…do you look at people’s work as it’s in progress?”

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Before I answer, here are some things you should know about me:

👀🎁 I am 100% a Christmas present-peeker

👀♎ I am a horoscope reader

👀🍿 I read the wikipedia synopsis as I’m watching the movie

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I just REALLY want to know exactly what’s going to happen as often as I can. This is why my answer surprised even me.

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“I never look.”

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How could this be, especially as someone who can’t handle even going to other people’s surprise parties! I hate surprises!

I realized that every time I looked ahead at someone’s work, it removed a layer of trust and accountability with that designer.

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By peeking, I'd be taking away the opportunity for them to talk through their ideas, which is actually one of the most valuable parts of the design process. It’s something we don’t always see in a Figma file.

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And since there are so few opportunities to talk through work, especially outside of client meetings, why take away a chance for people to flex that muscle?

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So as a friendly hot take to all my Creative Director friends—no peeking please!