I worked with Lena Pernas on a review she wrote with Professor Luca Scorrano on the role of mitochondria in mediating cellular processes, and the proteins that coordinate mitochondrial dynamics (Pernas & Scorrano, Annu. Rev. Physiol. 2015). This was a fantastic and fun collaboration to work on. I learned a lot about mitochondrial dynamics and worked closely with Lena to translate the key ideas and concepts she wanted to convey into figures. Reviews are really fun to work on because despite what their name might suggest, they are often at the forefront of knowledge, as authors work to synthesize current knowledge into a coherent framework. Thinking about how to depict the interaction of proteins or components in a review figure often forces us to consider where there are gaps in knowledge. To create these particular figures, Lena and I discussed current knowledge about the structure of mitochondrial proteins, how they have traditionally been depicted in the field, and the manner of interactions she envisioned.