Zoom In Until It Lines Up
I was in Canva the other day, trying to get some text boxes and shapes to align.
They looked fine. I nudged them a little here, a little there. Still… something felt off.
Then I zoomed in.
Suddenly, what had seemed “close enough” was obviously crooked. The text that I thought was centered was leaning just enough to make my brain itch. A couple tiny adjustments, and — click — it all came together.
The problem wasn’t my skill. The problem was my perspective. I’d been working from too far away to actually see the truth.
That moment got me thinking about how often this happens outside of Canva — in life, in business, in relationships. Sometimes, nothing lines up until you zoom in.
The Big Picture vs. Detail Trap
If you’ve ever been in a job interview, you’ve probably heard the question:
“Are you a big picture person or a detail person?”
It’s framed as a binary choice, as if you can only be one. Pick “big picture” and you risk sounding like you can’t be trusted to follow through. Pick “detail” and you risk sounding like you’ll get lost in the weeds and never finish anything.
But the truth is, both matter. Big picture without detail is just a dream. Detail without big picture is just busywork.
And yet — in most workplaces and cultural narratives — big picture gets the glory.
Why Big Picture Gets the Spotlight
We love the idea of visionaries. The founders, the CEOs, the sales leads who can stand on a stage and paint a vivid future. They’re the storytellers. They rally the troops. They make the rest of us feel like we’re part of something bigger.
In leadership and sales especially, the ability to “zoom out” and inspire is treated like the pinnacle of professional skill.
These are the people who get:
The promotions.
The media profiles.
The keynote slots.
The corner offices.
Meanwhile, the detail people — the ones making sure the systems actually run, the typos are caught, the contracts are correct, the product actually works — are often invisible.
Until, of course, something goes wrong. Then suddenly, everyone’s asking why the details weren’t handled.
The Invisible Architecture of Success
Every big picture achievement is held up by an army of details:
The stage lighting that makes the CEO’s keynote look effortless.
The correctly filed paperwork that keeps the business in compliance.
The proofreader who caught the embarrassing typo in the marketing campaign before it went public.
The operations manager who quietly rerouted resources so the project didn’t stall.
These things don’t make headlines. You’ll never see them in a LinkedIn “humblebrag” post.
But without them, the big picture collapses.
My Autistic, Visual Perspective
As an autistic person, I live in the land of details. Noticing them isn’t something I “try” to do — it’s automatic. I see patterns, misalignments, subtle shifts in tone or spacing that most people’s brains blur out.
When I was younger, I saw this as a liability. I worried I was slowing things down, overthinking, nitpicking. The world seemed to reward speed and charisma — not the person quietly adjusting the margins so the page actually works.
But over time, I’ve realized something: the details are where the big picture becomes real. A vision is just a story until the details give it form.
In Canva, that means zooming in until the lines really match. In life and business, it means catching the flaws early so they don’t become disasters later.
The Risk of Staying Zoomed Out
It’s tempting to keep your view wide. The big picture is exciting. It’s energizing. It’s the version of your work that’s easy to share at a networking event.
But staying zoomed out too long means you can miss the little misalignments that quietly sabotage your vision:
The onboarding process that’s clunky enough to frustrate customers before they even start.
The “good enough” product copy that doesn’t actually connect with your audience.
The tiny inefficiencies in your workflow that add up to hours lost every week.
These things don’t announce themselves. You have to go looking for them. And you can’t fix what you won’t zoom in far enough to see.
Switching the Zoom
The trick isn’t to live in one perspective — it’s to know when to change it.
Zoom In:
Look for what feels “almost right” and ask, What’s actually off here?
Examine the systems, the copy, the process steps you usually skim past.
Invite the people who live in the details to tell you what they see.
Make Adjustments:
These are usually small.
They’re not glamorous.
They make the difference between “fine” and “solid.”
Zoom Out:
Step back to see how the small fixes strengthen the whole.
Reconnect to the vision.
Share it with the team so they can see how the details are paying off.
Bridging the Divide
If big picture people are the architects, detail people are the builders.
An architect can draw the most stunning building in the world, but without builders who understand the materials, measurements, and methods, that building will never exist.
And here’s the thing: most big picture people know they need detail people — they just forget to credit them when it’s time to hand out praise. The more visible the vision, the more invisible the scaffolding seems to become.
If you’re in leadership or sales, here’s my challenge:
Give your detail people public credit.
Invite them into early-stage conversations instead of just handing them the “finished” plan…you know, the one they spend countless hours tweaking and adjusting to make it work.
Learn to value the time it takes to get it right, not just the time it takes to get it done.
Why This Matters for Business Owners and Creatives
If you’re starting a business, you are both the big picture and the detail person — whether you like it or not (I’m over here in the not category, in case you’re wondering.) In the early days, you’re the one doing the dreaming and the one making sure the invoices are sent, and the website actually works on mobile.
If you’re wired like me, the details will come naturally, but you’ll have to force yourself to step back and make sure those details are in service of the big picture.
If you’re more of a big picture thinker, you’ll have to push yourself to zoom in — or surround yourself with people who can do it for you, and then trust them.
The Lesson From Canva
That day in Canva wasn’t just about lining up boxes and text. It was a reminder that perspective changes everything.
From far away, things can look fine.
Up close, the truth comes into focus.
And whether you’re building a business, launching a project, or navigating your own personal growth, you need both views:
Zoom out to dream.
Zoom in to make it real.
Because nothing — not your Canva design, not your career, not your big idea — will truly line up until you’re willing to get close enough to see the misalignments… and then step back to admire how beautifully it all fits together.
Follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for visuals and bite-sized insights from this piece. And if this resonated, share it with someone else who gets it.
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About the Author
Gal is an autistic artist, late-diagnosed at 49, and the creator of AuRTistic Expressions—a space where neurodivergent truth meets creative survival. Through blog posts, printables, courses, and the “This Might Get Messy” podcast, Gal explores what it means to unmask safely, communicate authentically, and make art that doesn’t ask for permission. Stick around—there’s plenty more where this came from.
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Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash
