Affinity Designer Reviews

Breath of fresh air for design products

Pros:

Full-featured suite that reminds me of the way Adobe products used to work prior to subscriptions and feature bloat.

Cons:

Some features are still missing, but I’m hopeful they will arrive with the Canva merger.

The best alternative to illustrator

Comments: Affinity designer is a very feature complete alternative to adobe illustrator, I feel that some tools are even better, and it is also much faster than illustrator.
Unlike illustrator, designer is made from scratch and as for that utilize modern hardware much better and everything works much faster. I use is as a freelance graphic designer since v.1 and the compatibility with adobe apps is pretty good, but even if you have trouble you can simple share PDF files that work fine. For example if I need to outsource some printing I send a PDF that can be saved in a PDF standard (like PDF X-1a:2003) and nobody have ever complained about incompatibilities or anything. Devs are improving the app all the time adding new tools and features. Personally I do miss from illustrator the image trace tool and the newer AI tools, although since affinity is bought by Canva maybe the AI gap in tools will soon be eliminated. Also you buy once in a very reasonable price and you can have it for ever. The newer universal license is pure gold value as you can have all 3 affinity apps for all available platforms for the cost of few months of adobe subscription (although yeah adobe suite give you a wider arrange of apps, me as a graphic designer simple need the 3 basics illustrator/photoshop/indesign, why to pay every year for apps that I don't use?). All in all it have a 60 days trial, so you can try for yourself for free. Just arrange the workspace the same way you had it in illustrator and the transition will be very smooth. The only thing that works completely differently is the clipping mask, but it is not a big deal.

Pros:

Simple put, it is a very good and fast alternative to adobe illustrator with very competitive pricing and one off buy.

Cons:

Technically speaking it is still on it's infancy, while it covers a lot of functions for a program that new, there are still things that are not yet implemented that I would love to have (although I have faith on the dev team that eventually will add everything that you may ever need).

User friendly

Comments: I think that losing quality when sizing images needs to be improved as it is a significant issue

Pros:

It’s very easy to figure out how to use, and it’s user friendlt

Cons:

Image sizing loses quality of the image for vectors

Perfect for a wide range of graphic tasks in a marketing agency environment

Comments: I was looking for a tool to do my entire design - from print materials to social media URL preview images. It covers it all and is easy to use.

Pros:

Pricing for what you actually get on functionality.

Cons:

Some minor issues on figuring out how to set up the studio.

Affinity Designer is an amazing program

Pros:

I love that you only have to pay for it once and you own it. No subscriptions, no hassles, I can learn at my own pace because there are no timelines. I love how much I’m learning I’m this program and how much it has helped me to design products I can then sell.

Cons:

There is nothing I dislike about the program except the amount of time I need to have to invest in actually learning it. There are a lot of videos that even Affinity has put out to help you learn the program on all the different platforms.

Why Affinity Earns My Loyalty: A Review of Their Customer-Centric Approach

Pros:

Affinity has always been a value-centered brand that genuinely cares about both the quality of its products and the satisfaction of its users. While many brands focus on maximizing profits and squeezing out every penny, Affinity chooses to do right by its customers with straightforward and simple purchase models. That's why their apps remain indispensable in my toolkit, and I feel a deep sense of loyalty toward their brand. Great job, team, and I think your 6-month model is brilliant. I wish you every success with it.

Cons:

Learning curve takes time and help files could be better.

Great app for creating nice designs

Comments: It’s very economic and it does everything that a design needs so I really recommend it, especially to small businesses

Pros:

I like the fact that it’s not a subscription but you pay it once and then have access forever. Also it has a lot of tools so you can create and personalize your design!

Cons:

It a professional app so it’s not that intuitive, you have to look to a lot of tutorials and guides to fully use it

More compatível with Photoshop than ilustrator

Comments: Great, very very fast comparing with illustrator, fast redraw on complex documentos. Less RAM requirement to work and very good export options and compatiliby with Adobe friends

Pros:

Pasta inside mutch better than illustrator with thouse cliping paths from last Century. Speed, and opening PSD in layeres and exporting in PSD format among other features and easy to learn and work.

Cons:

The mini Photoshop inside, the perna stuff

Affinity Designer is more bang for your buck

Pros:

Great alternative to Adobe products for an affordable price.

Cons:

The UI is a little different than Adobe so there was a learning curve

Affinity Designer's a lifesaver!

Comments: Used to use Illustrator, but that was a right pain in the neck with the subscription fees. Much more straightforward, this.

Pros:

Love how easy it is to use and how smoothly it runs. Affinity Designer's a lifesaver!

Cons:

Had a bit of a kerfuffle finding tutorials and resources for it. Reckon the community could be a bit bigger.

Sublime platform for all creatives and illustrators

Comments: Affinity Designer has been paramount in the marketing department from graphics designs for our social media platforms to vector graphics of cars and automotive solutions.

Pros:

It offers a perfect artboard layout and infinite social media templates which I find simple and fun to use. I also use Affinity Designer for digital prints output due to its impeccable resolutions!

Cons:

Definitely a bit complex when starting off. Training and tutorials helped me get accustomed. It is quite enjoyable now when I understand most tools and shortcuts.

Viable one-time-purchase option to get out of Adobe's subscription model

Comments: I have a one-person business where I design 2D files for laser cutting, as well as doing my own graphic design for packaging and promotional materials, photography, post-processing, etc. I am not a "power user" of Adobe CC or CS but I'm looking for something good at doing detailed vector artwork that doesn't feel like I'm back in the 1990s or something. I tested Affinity Designer on a project that I started in Adobe CS4, continued in Adobe CC; working on it in Affinity Designer was seamless.

Pros:

I have worked on one project to test it during the trial period before purchasing. The vector editing features are very similar to Adobe Illustrator, but it's a one-time-purchase for this version and updates rather than a subscription model. I'm happy that I can use it on multiple computers for my own use, as I have both a home and a studio workstation. Because my workflow includes tracing over photos, I appreciate having a suite (Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher) where it's easy to go back and forth with photo editing. I also do my own product photos and print materials so this suite is just what I needed.

Cons:

I have not tried to transfer files back and forth between workstations using Affinity and Adobe.

Vector graphics for everybody

Comments: As the leader of a small-to-medium-enterprise and an educator in sound for media, many times I have the need to create simple graphics. From schematics and diagrams to icons and beyond. I use them for my company's internal knowledge-base, when I blog, for my presentations in classrooms, and even to create our own software graphical assets from mockups to finished product. First of all, it's no secret that working in vector is what every software developer should do, as it allows for the generation of all the graphic assets to be made in various bitmap resolutions, so your application looks clear and crisp in any device. Lately, even the Unity game engine introduced a pipeline to use vector graphic assets to create games, so that they render in any resolution, I definitely recommend checking this out if you are a game developer.
Anyway, Affinity Designer always delivered a great experience for me and all my colleagues said that I became a graphic designer, which is not true, but it is a great compliment, and I really own that to Affinity Designer.
The exporter feature is one huge time saver, you should check out the videos they have about this one and also the rest of Affinity team's video tutorials in Vimeo.
Overall, the experience of using the application can be described as smooth, fast and easy.

Pros:

What I liked most about this program, is the workflow and interface. The developers managed to create a simple to use application for vector graphics, that everybody can operate. I can't remember how many times I got frustrated trying to make a simple graphic in other programs, while in Affinity Designer, the workflow is mapped so well, that everybody can use it. From computer graphics professionals around the world, to amateurs like me, it is straight forward to open the application and start creating. The online help system is awesome and omni-present and the graphical interface is sleek and looks good in any monitor that I tried it, even small ones. I also consider a great bonus that the company keeps a straight policy about pricing, they don't use the subscription model which is very good for SMEs.

Cons:

Some advanced vector tools are missing, but the software is still young and I'm sure it will develop to a great tool. After all, the developers seem to have usability, ease of use and fast workflows in mind, so they add new features very carefully, to keep Affinity Designer the great tool that it is now.

My Preferred App For Vector Drawing

Comments: Even though it has some restrictions, I love using Affinity Designer and use it instead of Illustrator about 90% of the time. I switch back to Illustrator only when I have something I can't achieve with Affinity Designer. But the app gets updates pretty regularly so I'm hoping that it will only get better and better with each update.

Pros:

The interface felt so easy to handle, uncluttered, and user-friendly after Illustrator. Even though Affinity Designer lacked some features that Illustrator has, it became my favorite drawing app very quickly and is still after using it for more than a year daily.

Cons:

I'm hoping that Affinity will introduce an image trace feature soon. This feature is not only important for tracing images (which I don't really do) but also for using some custom vector brushes. For example, I bought some lovely watercolor vector brushes for Affinity Designer from a website just to realize that what I draw with them in Affinity Designer doesn't become a real vector image. When I tried the Illustrator version of the same brushes in Illustrator, I could get true vector drawings. Then I realized how important image tracing actually is.

The powerhouse of vector design

Comments: We use Affinity Designer for a myriad of things - from designing logos and graphics for websites, to making merch design for our web comic. The great UI and amazing performance are an upgrade from our previous vector design software.

Pros:

Affinity designer is the software I was waiting for as long as I remember. It has all the options of the mainstream competition, but for the fraction of the price. The best part of it is that Affinity Designer does what it does perfectly. But, the thing that attracted me to the Serif software, Affinity Designer and it's sister products Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher, is not only that. They offered their software for absolutely free for three entire months when the COVID pandemic started, and then for another three months later on. All the time, their price was down to 50% as well. They were not only the best, but the most human and kind. And that is the kind of company I want to give my money to.

Cons:

A solid bitmap tracing option would be nice.

Budget alternative to Adobe's increasingly expensive product line..

Comments: The pricepoint and feature set make this a steal when you compare it to Adobe's competitor Illustrator. We bought a single license and had our most experienced designer test drive it. He ultimately recommended it and we've enjoyed a huge cost savings for software, while not missing a beat in terms of workload and output.

Pros:

This is a fantastic alternative to Adobe's Illustrator, especially at Affinity's pricepoint. To be fair, we're not a design agency first, we make websites and do marketing primarily. However, when we do want to work with vector graphics, Affinity Designer matches up almost 1:1 with Adobe Illustrator. The real pro is the one-time fee of $50 instead of a full adobe suite subscription. This allows our small team to effectively open, edit, and export vector graphics, without having a several hundred dollars per month bill to foot. For small teams, this is a huge win. I'd imagine some experienced designers will scoff that a few of their old shortcuts don't work, but all in all, the interface and function almost mirrors Adobe's for a fraction of the cost. We also use their photo editing software too, which replaces Photoshop.

Cons:

Some of the terminology and keyboard shortcuts made the onboarding slightly more difficult for our long-time Adobe Illustrator users, but they've adopted nicely over time. There's always growing pains when you switch tools, but there are many more features that do match up 1:1 that this was a no brainer for our company.

Great graphic design software

Pros:

Affinity Designer is a great one-time purchase software for graphic design. It has more features than the free program I was using previously and has allowed me to create more detailed designs for use in my business.

Cons:

I don't have any formal training in graphic design so learning a new program can be difficult. I tend to turn to Youtube for tutorials and unfortunately there aren't a lot of tutorials for Affinity Designer compared to some of the other major design programs out there.

Brilliant Application - Incredible Brand!

Comments: My overall experience with the whole Affinity brand is supremely positive. Every aspect of their service: from the products they provide to the support, tutorials and workbooks they offer is of a supremely high standard. I'm incredibly excited to see how this brand evolves and will definitely be purchasing any product they add to their catalogue in the future.

Pros:

Designer is an incredibly deep application that can satisfy just about everyone's demands for digital illustration. It has a phenomenal feature set and works on multiple devices, thus enabling the user to maximize their output and enhance their workflow. The accompanying Workbook is a brilliant way to familiarize the user to the capabilities of the software, and as the only viable alternative to Adobe Illustrator, anyone making the transition will feel right at home - you can even open up your Illustrator projects in Designer! Another great function is the seamless integration with Affinity's other applications - Publisher and Photo. I have only scratched the surface of this application but am astonished at what can be achieved. I can't recommend it highly enough and think that there is nothing on the market than can compete at this price range. Five stars! 🏆

Cons:

Since making the transition from Illustrator, I've honestly not looked back once. There is nothing in my workflow that Designer isn't capable of performing. As such, I have no cons and can't think of any reason not explore Designer and its capabilities.

The best design tool to beat Adobe

Pros:

I love that this is a smaller competitively-priced design tool for the masses. Ad-hoc charge vs monthly recurring. Features are 80% matching of their largest rival

Cons:

The learning curve coming from their main competitor can be a little jarring, but you get over it quick with the money savings

Affinity Designer from a Person who is not techie

Comments: The main problem that Affinity Designer solves is the need for a comprehensive and powerful vector graphics design solution. Affinity Designer provides users with a suite of tools and features to create sophisticated vector designs, including vector shapes and paths, complex masking, and advanced color and text manipulation.The benefits of using Affinity Designer include:1. Professional-grade design capabilities: Affinity Designer offers a robust set of tools and features that allow users to create sophisticated and professional-looking vector designs.2. Intuitive user interface: Affinity Designer has a clean and intuitive user interface, making it easy to create complex designs with ease.3. Full compatibility with Adobe Creative Suite: Affinity Designer is fully compatible with Adobe Creative Suite, allowing users to continue to work on their Adobe projects within the Affinity Designer interface.4. Cost savings: Affinity Designer is a one-time purchase, which means users don't need to pay for a subscription or purchase upgrades. This can save users money in the long run.

Pros:

-Affinity Designer is an intuitive and powerful vector design software that is easy to use.-It has an efficient workflow and allows for the creation of complex designs quickly and accurately.-It offers a wide range of tools to help create professional-looking designs.-It is compatible with both Mac and Windows.-It has a great user interface and is well organized.-It offers support for vector and raster images.-It can be used to create illustrations, logos, icons, diagrams, and web page layouts.

Cons:

-The learning curve can be a bit steep for those who are new to vector design.-It lacks some of the advanced features found in other vector design software.-It does not have a built-in library of templates and shapes.

Evaluating the Pros and Cons of Affinity Designer: An In-Depth Review of the Vector Graphics Design

Comments: Affinity Designer is a great choice for vector graphics design, offering precision tools, a user-friendly interface, and cross-platform compatibility. However, its limited compatibility with other software, steep learning curve, and performance issues can be drawbacks.

Pros:

Affinity Designer offers precision tools for vector graphics design, making it a great choice for tasks such as logo design, typography, and illustrations.Affinity Designer has a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible for both novice and professional designers.Affinity Designer is available on both Windows and Mac operating systems, making it a great choice for designers who use multiple platforms.Affinity Designer is an affordable alternative to other professional design software, such as Adobe Illustrator.Affinity Designer has a large and active community of users, providing support and resources to help users get the most out of the software.

Cons:

Affinity Designer may not have all the features of more expensive design software, making it a less attractive choice for some professionals.Affinity Designer does not offer a free trial, making it difficult for users to test the software before purchasing

Gotta Get Them All

Comments: I should start by saying that I didn't think I'd need Affinity Designer when I bought it. The only reason I bought it (and its product sibling, Affinity Photo) was because the product I actually wanted (Affinity Publisher) has a component called "Studio Link" that allows owners of Designer and Photo to switch "personas," which is a fancy word for summoning the tool set for Designer or Photo, whenever they need to update an image, logo, vector, landscape photo, etc. within a print layout for magazines, books (my exact use case), posters, fliers, or any other printed publication for business. By having a copy of Designer, I can use its full feature set right inside Publisher (same with Photo). I never have to exit the program or swap the image file I need to work on. It's not just innovative, it's efficient: one of the functional reasons (outside the obvious cost benefit) to using Affinity Anything over Adobe Anything (including Illustrator, it's main competition). But the funny thing is that once I bought Designer (and Photo), I saw a need for it. It's now my go-to for designing vector images, which can help me to make a logo for my website or a character + scene or idea design for my book covers (in comedies and coming-of-age fiction). The hardest part is actually learning how to draw with vectors. Spoiler Alert: It's not hard, even if you're an amateur like me. Get the Affinity Designer textbook or watch expert tutorials, and you'll figure it out in no time.

Pros:

The main reason I bought the program was because it integrates with Affinity Publisher, another tool from the same company that I needed for book design. This is probably more of a pro in Publisher's camp, but Designer's compatibility with Affinity's entire suite of products made it attractive. But it didn't take long for me to realize that I needed a program to design vector graphics, and Affinity Designer scratches that itch well. I can't compare its feature set to its competitor, Adobe Illustrator, because I don't use Adobe products, so I can't discuss what it lacks. But when it comes to essential layered shape designs and special effects (and creating patterns, and designing logos, and so on), it includes everything you need to get the job done well. It's also easy to use. The product's store page also sells a textbook that holds your hand through designing projects, so it's very learn-as-you-go. The video tutorials also offer quick tips and best practices, and you can get additional design ideas from Affinity's YouTube channel. The price is unbeatable. It charges an ownership fee, not a subscription fee, so you pay for the product once (and depending on your budget, you don't pay much) and keep it forever. The price includes all updates within that version, and it updates enough to maintain user confidence. Overall, my opinion is that if you care about graphics of any kind, this is a tool worth having. But you should get all of Affinity's products. They're worth it.

Cons:

If I were a dedicated graphic design artist, I might have an opinion here. But as a writer and sometimes game designer, my graphic needs are governed by situation, and so far my situation has not revealed any frustrations that I wouldn't extend to all Affinity products. So, the only actual negative I have right now is trivial. I'd need to use the software consistently to become excellent, and I don't need it often enough to become excellent. But if I were to use it consistently, the tools it offers would help me become excellent. So, there's no real con to buying this program, especially at its price point. Keeping track of the art boards gave me a headache the first time I used them. I think I may have used them wrong. A true graphic designer probably wouldn't have that kind of problem. It would be like a non-writer trying to learn how to use the style sheets in Microsoft Word (or Affinity Publisher, for that matter). Not hopeless, but not easy on the first try. No, the only nitpick I have is the same about all of Affinity's products. To update them, you have to manually download and install the newest version. Each product is half a gigabyte in size. Multiply that by three (because all three share the same updates), and it can get expensive on your hard drive if you don't have that delete key ready. It would be nicer if they had an auto-updating option available (for those who trust the integrity of updates). But that's about it. Oh, and Affinity likes RAM. Lots of RAM.

An Affordable Champion

Comments: I've been looking for an alternative to Adobe illustrator for years now, and Affinity Designer is the one. The interface is much faster to open and lighter in feel, and it offers pretty much all the features one could want from a vector editor. You can jump between vector and raster quite easily too.

Pros:

Affinity Designer is very inexpensive, but you wouldn't know it from using it. This is a full-on, best-in-class vector graphics application for designing logos, icons, UI, mock-ups and more.

Cons:

While Affinity Designer is very similar to Adobe Illustrator, it does behave quite differently in some ways, and will take a little longer to adjust coming from Illustrator. That being said, it's still very easy to use.

A good Illustrator alternative, but far from perfect

Comments: Overall, I recommend Designer, along with the other Affinity apps, but I have something of a love-hate relationship with them. I love that we have real alternative to Adobe's products. The tools are powerful, and in many areas they shine brighter than Adobe's tired old offerings. On the other hand, some basic usability issues seem to hang about forever.

Pros:

It's almost impossible to judge any vector illustration software without drawing comparisons (excuse the pun) to Adobe Illustrator, and in many ways Affinity Designer compares very well. It certainly feels fast, as a modern, native Mac app should. And unlike Illustrator, you can buy the app for a very affordable one-time purchase—no monthly subscriptions. Affinity has done a great job of unifying (mostly) all their apps, and this has to be mentioned too—Designer exists as part of an ecosystem, which for many designers, makes it the first genuine alternative to Adobe's Creative Cloud.

Cons:

I have not found the transition from Adobe apps to be an altogether easy one. In some part, that is just the nature of switching from tools that one has grown very familiar with over many years. But some of it goes beyond that. The Affinity apps (and Designer is no exception) exhibit some *interesting* UI behaviours. Some of the more frustrating ones: - poor windows management, making Separated Mode almost unusable - strange intermittent bugs like a background window somehow having focus (and receiving commands) - working with colour swatches (especially Pantone swatches and spot colours) is cumbersome - some non-destructive actions, like deselecting an object, are added to the undo/redo stack (making it impossible to redo other commands) - no option to globally turn off antialiasing of exported artwork - no info panel - no ability to save your workspaces - lots of other 'little' interface oddities, which aren't big in and of themselves, but which can contribute to a somewhat frustrating experience overall. Some of these issues have been raised over and over again on the user forums, but Affinity seems very slow to address them.

Great for computer Design

Comments: Good for graphic design and 2d svg files.

Pros:

Works well for creating a svg drawing files on 'the laptop/desktop.

Cons:

The mobile version is not easy for students to use on the iPad.