Affinity Designer reviews

Best Alternative for Adobe Illustrator

Opmerkingen: Overall, I am very happy with this app because I can finally work on vectors and graphic designs without worrying about monthly fees. It is so cheap and powerful. This is definitely the best alternative for Adobe Illustrator.

Pluspunten:

I was an avid user of Adobe Illustrator before they changed into a subscription model. When I learned about Affinity Designer, I grabbed it immediately without second thoughts. It works great and has all the features and tools I need for my work and business. You just have to pay once and you get all future updates for life! Also, their mobile app comes free after your purchase. How cool is that? The app can be used on desktops and/or tablets. I have tried it on my iPad Pro and it's really fun to use, though I'd still prefer working on a computer. The price is so cheap and hard to beat. I will never look back after using this software for almost 5 years. I am now a fan and I highly recommend this app.

Minpunten:

There is nothing to dislike with this software. I never had any issues or crashes so far. I love it!

Best value for price in the industry

Opmerkingen: Overall a very good experience and after using it for a while i cannot go back to Adobe Illustrator.

Pluspunten:

It has a very competetive pricing for what it can do. It does not have a subscription model, which is very incommon nowadays. While it is still lacking behind on some features compared to others like Adobe Illustrator, it is catching up fast.

Minpunten:

Some features that one is used to from Adobe Illustrator are missing. Hoping for the addition in a future update.

The graphic design software for professionals.

Opmerkingen: Affinity Design is a powerful and comprehensive graphic design software that offers multiple advanced features for professional designers.

Pluspunten:

What I really like about Affinity Design is that it offers advanced vector drawing tools such as geometric shapes and Bézier curves. It also supports layer styles.

Minpunten:

What I may like the least is the photo editing tool for correcting imperfections, as it can sometimes hinder the editing process of photos.

Not fit for purpose

Opmerkingen: Not really a finished app I have been trying to integrate Affinity Designer into a professional workflow for a number of years now but I've come to the conclusion that it's just too painful and there is nothing to indicate that this will improve. Back when I first purchased this app the developers were promising a roadmap of future improvements which would bring it closer to some of the industry-standard vector apps out there. It's been two years now and not a single thing on that list has been implemented. The few updates which have come down the line have focused on things like the app icon. The developers have moved on to other projects, and it seems to me that for all intents and purposes, development on this software has been abandoned. I wouldn't wish to speculate if this software will even be supported in a few years. So we're left with an app which lacks some of the most fundamental vector editing tools. With the exception of skew, vectors cannot be distorted in any way (including perspective) and it even lacks a knife tool. These are tools which are actually provided by many free editors. Furthermore, many tools are very poorly implemented. Convert to curves produces hilariously unusable results and things like Offset Path simply don't exist. The developers themselves are notoriously unresponsive to please for further development. Since going cross-platform there have been many reports of Designer's instability and since the implementation of Apples Metal API

Pluspunten:

It's cheap, although it still remains less powerful that some free apps

Minpunten:

Development seems to have ground to a halt on this app. Investing time and energy learning could be a waste of time as it may not be around in the future.

Sublime platform for all creatives and illustrators

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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!

Minpunten:

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.

My Preferred App For Vector Drawing

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

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

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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

How not love it?

Opmerkingen: I have the whole suite working together: Designer, Photo, Publisher and it helps me stay on a competitive level against other businesses offering the same services.

Pluspunten:

Affinity Designer is the best Adobe Illustrator alternative that will let you edit SVG, AI, EPS, PDF files with ease. The controls are very intuitive and easy to use, the results are way too good and so far, after all these years there's nothing I regret from using Affinity Designer If you buy a set of tools on the Serif store, you do not have to download them and install them on a certain folder, you just go into the panel, click, that's it. You have it ready to use and installed properly.

Minpunten:

The only thing I cannot do in Affinity Designer so far is to get a PNG and trace it into a vector. For that, I have to use Inkspace but everything else: Affnity Designer. Another thing that you may feel limited is that you see templates for Illustrator everywhere but not for Designer. You can still open them but all the layers groups will be merged into a single giant group making you spend some time rearranging things.

A great vector creation tool for iPad users

Opmerkingen: It’s been great overall. One purchase and you jump right in without worrying about renewing payment plans. At first it was a bit of a shock having such a high quality app for a table because it does things that you might not expect it to to do while at the same time not behaving exactly how you would expect. However it’s more because it must compromise in some aspects due to the fact that it MUST take into account both touch only controls as well as mouse and keyboad.

Pluspunten:

-Purchase once and use forever. You don’t need a monthly subscription fee to access every feature -Accesible price, you don’t need to break the bank to purchase this app -Rich interface and tools

Minpunten:

-Interface and interactions may be hit or miss since it’s software built for tablets and may not always play nice when using mouse and keyboard - Slight learning curve when coming from other options

My Affinity Review

Pluspunten:

Affinity is one of the tools that has helped my graphic design agency it features and Fonts helped in making my graphics design making it organized and liked by my client . Affinity is one of the easiest tool with advanced features to make the design look beautuful.

Minpunten:

The only thing i dont like is way the software has a dark background interface .

Brilliant Application - Incredible Brand!

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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! 🏆

Minpunten:

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.

Best Vector Design software in a Cheaper price

Opmerkingen: Overall, I am happy with this product. It comes with a perceptual purchase plan. I can do my 80% of design in affinity designer. I wish they add features like shape builder tool, Image tracer soon. Then, It will be the best Adobe Illustrator Competitor.

Pluspunten:

The interface is less complicated. Layer management is awesome. It supports non-destructive editing for both vector & pixel editing. It supports live preview while changing any properties like colour, font & effects of the design.

Minpunten:

There is no image tracing option. Lacking of Shape builder tool, pattern tool, real vector brush tool made this software hard to recommend to others.

IMO the Best Vector Editing Software on the Market

Opmerkingen: Fabulous. I bought the software in 2014 when it was first released and Serif has supplied free upgrades for almost seven years now (bringing it from version 1.0 to 1.9).
It's super easy to learn when you come from competing software and because it's newly developed it doesn't carry the heft of many, many years of old code and compatibility issues around (looking at you, Illustrator!).

Pluspunten:

It's modern, FAST (in capitals), easy to use, affordable and regularly updated. Also, Affinity Designer (and it's companion applications Photo and Publisher) are available on both Windows and macOS with 100% file compatibility; In addition there is an iPad edition available, again with 100% compatible files and great drawing features for Apple Pencil.

Minpunten:

The management of ,global colours' and 'normal colours' needs some getting used to. Once you know how it works, it works well, but it's a bit different than I expected.

A great Vector Design Application

Opmerkingen: I love this software! I use it every day as a tool for vector design.

Pluspunten:

Affinity Designer (and it's sister applications) is application you really must love! The pricetag, the functionality, the support - it's all excellent.

Minpunten:

The progress of making new functionality is slow and on Windows 10 the application is sometimes a bit buggy.

Vector graphics for everybody

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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.

Ditch Adobe Illustrator. Get Affinity Designer NOW

Opmerkingen: I love this tool for graphic design. The learning curve is short, the tool itself is inexpensive (no recurring cost) and I look forward to use it on a daily basis - it's so intutive.

Pluspunten:

The best thing about Affinity Designer is not that it is feature rich, but that it has all the essential features for designing/illustration. This software can be bought for a low price (one-time) unlike Adoble Illustrator which demands you pay monthly license fee. The software is easy and intutive to use and I was able to learn the essentials within a week or so. You get basic photo editing features like selection tools for cropping, blending modes, etc.

Minpunten:

Certain useful features like gradient map, 3D, mockups, etc. that are available in Illustrator may not be available with Affinity Designer. But I am OK with this - too many features make us forget essential ones. Besides, the magic wand tool available in Affinity Photo is not available in Affinity Designer - for precise cropping of people, etc. I wish Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo were a single software.

Absolutely amazing product with mind-blowing price!

Opmerkingen: Wonderful. The quality is absolutely on par with Illustrator and works without a hitch on my Macbook Pro M1. No stutters or jitters.

Pluspunten:

I love Affinity Designer so much! I been using it on a daily basis for 5+ years now. The price of $50 is absolutely mind blowing for what this is able to do. It's comparable to other products in its category for 1/10th of the price. I have not had any instance of something that could be done in Illustrator that can't be done with Affinity.

Minpunten:

The only thing about the product that I don't like is that the art board is not transparent. This becomes an issue because I am not able to view anything outside of the work area and unless I find it in the layers tab, I won't be able to locate anything I put on it.

Really good tools - and much less expensive than Adobe

Opmerkingen: Very happy with the Affinity tools on the whole, and I can recommend them especially For iPad work and for working in small teams.

Pluspunten:

I use Affinity for my own creations, mostly drawing and cartooning, and I really like it. It has most of the same tools as the Adobe tools I used but it’s way better thought out when I use it on my iPad. Same goes for the Affinity Photo app. They both work very well on my iPad. I have used the Affinity tools on my iMac and they are responsive there too. They aLso have some really good filters and a good ecosystem for lenses and other tools as well as for tutorials and sharing artwork in the community. But maybe it’s biggest plus is the price compared to Adobe. The fact that I don’t have to pay monthly for it, and it’s a great product are key factors. I think it’s a great alternative to Adobe products.

Minpunten:

The tool icons themselves are small and make it difficult to locate them sometimes and the UI isn’t as polished as Adobe. Also I haven’t been able to really take advantage of the personas they have for designer and photo apps. Also the fact that when you open an non-Affinity image you are pushed to save it their proprietary format as opposed to the format you opened it in.

Affinity Designer is great option in designing market

Opmerkingen: Overall it was nice using Affinity designer. The major problem with it was it lacks some important tools which are existing in other software, which has been cleared out in newer updates. You can just make anything in it from website, app design to vector art and illustration which is a very nice point as this is only a single time payment software.

Pluspunten:

These major pros of the affinity designer I found 1. The software is an only one-time payment which makes the Affinity designer much more relevant than other subscription-based Softwares out there. 2. It consists of a lot of tools required for vector illustrations to UI/UX design to even web designs. 3. User Interface is very good compared to other Softwares out there in the market. 4. And at last, the cross-platform support from other software like adobe creative cloud suite makes it relevant for the price you pay.

Minpunten:

There are not many cons you will get from this software actually one major con is 1. It lacks many tools compared to other competitive software in the industry

Absolute must for digital artists who are sick of Adobe Photoshop fees,

Opmerkingen: We have been so impressed with the ease and quality of the software that we have completely switched from Adobe Photoshop to the Affinity software series.

Pluspunten:

The software is near identical to Adobe Photoshop, with some key features excelling expectations, but the one time affordable payment makes this software a must in this industry.

Minpunten:

Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher collectively provide the exact same product as Adobe Photoshop and more but are sold separately. Still worth buying each as the value over time compared to Adobe Photoshop with their monthly fees.

Best vector editor for a fraction of the price

Opmerkingen: We used Adobe for a long time but decided to switch to Affinity Designer when they offered the free trial and we are very happy we did! It saved us hundreds of dollars in just the few months that we were using it. If I could rate it any higher, I would! The entire Serif company is amazing at what they do and they are rolling out major updates very often. We use it for all of our graphic design needs, from logotypes to icons we use in our apps and, frankly, I will never look back to any other graphic design software.

Pluspunten:

It is super affordable! Affinity even lowered their prices 50% at the start of the pandemic and offered a three month free trial. It has all the options Illustrator has, and is as clean and usable as Illustrator.

Minpunten:

There is nothing I could find so far that I didn't like! Affinity Designer is the way to go!

Affinity - Best of both worlds

Opmerkingen: I been using the Affinity suite (Designer, Photo, Publisher) for months now and strongly feel that this is a great investment for the money (one time purchase).
All my (basic) design needs have been met so far. I've seen examples of other projects done with the suite and it is a very powerful contender to Adobe.

Pluspunten:

Affinity Designer is a very cost effective solution vs Adobe Illustrator. I love that it has all the features I need (and more). It is easy to use (if you know Illustrator or other design software), the brushes are helpful. I regularly use it to create/edit icons, and designs for my books. I am not a professional designer, so for me it has been a great tool.

Minpunten:

Some times it feels as if there are too many options. This comes with the package of not being a basic Design software (which is good actually). This is not a fault of the software, but lack of knowledge on my part.

Excellent alternative to Adobe Illustrator

Opmerkingen: With the exception of a few missing features and performance issues that would be nice to have, the experience has been excellent.

Pluspunten:

Affinity Designer is very affordable alternative that does most things as well as Adobe Illustrator (and a few things it does even better!) The UI is actually more intuitive than Illustrator in most ways, and those who come from Photoshop or Illustrator will have absolutely no problems adjusting to it. Affinity Designer is perfect for UI design, and illustration.

Minpunten:

Unfortunately Affinity Designer is missing some of the more advanced features available in Illustrator, though none of these will be a deal-breaker for most users. The Affinity suite of apps also seems to have some (mostly non-critical) issues with memory management. Complex files can cause the software to become rather sluggish even on high-end computers. Adobe Illustrator is not immune to this, but this seems to happen with less complex files with Affinity Designer.

A good Illustrator alternative, but far from perfect

Opmerkingen: 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.

Pluspunten:

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.

Minpunten:

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 software at a very affordable price

Opmerkingen: For the price, you honestly just can't ask for more. I haven't used everything it offers, and I know it's probably a few steps behind adobe, but it does everything that I need it to, and it does it well.

Pluspunten:

I have been looking for software like inDesign and Photoshop without breaking the bank. I wanted software that was functional, easy to use and set up, and something that didn't require a subscription. When I found Affinity, I was blown away with how good it was. And the fact that the publisher software works hand in hand with the photo software is a very nice touch. Coming from Adobe, the learning curve was relatively low, and I could open my old adobe files and pick up where I left off. Very, very happy with my purchase.

Minpunten:

If I have to include cons, I'm going to have to be nit-picky. I wish I could safe natively to other file types (I can export to indesign file types, or photoshop file types, just not with the save function) but that is very minor. In some documents, exporting to a PDF took some time, although it was a very large document and not normal to do under any piece of software. Overall though, these are very, very minor issues.