Embryonic development is a complex process in which cells divide, migrate, and differentiate in a precise spatiotemporal pattern. Cell-cell communication among neighboring cells plays a central role in specifying cell fate and in coordinating development. Embryonic development also relies on physical interaction between cells and coordinated changes in cell shape. A more recently investigated phenomenon is the coupling of development of adjacent tissues via inter-tissue adhesion. In this issue of EMBO Reports, Monnot and colleagues identify a role for inter-tissue adhesion in the development of adjacent sensory organs in the zebrafish. Specifically, eye morphogenesis influences the organ shape and retrograde axon growth in the adjacent olfactory placode via a shared extracellular matrix.