Affinity Designer Reviews

It allows you to do all the advanced stuff you need to do. Of course, there are some industry-standards out there this software will be compared to. Affinity Designer will for sure save you money after you spend some time in the initial adaptation translating all your knowledge from other tools to it. It sounds scary but it isn't. Things are just called differently and some others just have a different shortcut, but all what you know should still apply. A very cool thing I saw is that the developers are always interacting with users and they do listen to the requests! It's very, very lightweight (v. 1.8.5 is less than 500mb). Updates happen frequently but it's up to you to install them. Also it's equally lightweight in terms of resources used when running. The industry standards require everytime more and more ram and cpu while Affinity Designer runs very smoothly on all low-mid range pcs.

The documentation isn't always super super clear. As it's an evolving sofware and features are being added or changed, this is really important. A couple of times i had to rely on youtubers to find how to do certain things.

This is the easiest to learn in graphic design software. I like that I can edit parts of a design and link or embed the update. I have created book covers (for print), e-book templates, and recently a sticker series (convention logo sticker items for event items). It has helped me save time (revising templates instead of building from scratch with each one), and I was able to create exactly what the client wanted.

I've also created marketing graphics for social and launches of books and media (for clients). I can create custom templates to save time with each project (and there are a lot of built in custom templates already).

The main thing I like the least is that the Affinity software is not 'one' integration. It is three different programs. This is not my favorite thing for a few reasons, but, mostly I wish they were one, because I have started at least three projects in the wrong one (of the three I have).

It allows you to complete projects using minimal features on portable devices. So you can basically design on the go.

The features although it allows you to work on the go are not easy to figure out. Therefore the program has a learning curve that takes longer than others which is a little off-putting.

The layout is clean and easy to navigate, which makes it easy for new users to get started and for experienced users to find the tools they need quickly. Additionally, the software includes a number of helpful tutorials and resources to help users learn the program.

The software is not as widely used as other vector graphics editors, such as Illustrator. This can be a problem for users who need to share their work with others or who need to work on projects with team members who are using different software. While Affinity Designer does support file import and export to formats like SVG and PDF, some users may still experience compatibility issues when working with other software.

It's built for Mac OS, an it works flawlessly with my M1 MacBook and my Dell 27" external screen. It has all the features and tools as Adobe Illustrator and then some more. I absolutely love it!

Nothing that I can think of at the moment, all is rainbows and smiles after few years of using it.

Very powerful and well rounded design software.
Inexpensive, yet a great alternative to Illustrator

Not many collaboration and no good perspective tools.

I love that Affinity Designer has most of the essential graphic design features of Adobe Illustrator, for a fraction of the price. You can buy Designer outright with a one-time purchase for the price of just ONE month of an Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps subscription. The software is intuitive and easy to use, and is starting to become more popular amongst designers. If you come from Illustrator, there is only a small learning curve, and new features are constantly being added to bring it up to par with AI.

Some features are frustratingly similar to Adobe Illustrator, but slightly different, which can take time to figure them out, and slow down your workflow. Minor annoyances include not being able to trace a PNG into a vector, and not being able to merge vectors into one layer. Also, there aren't as many YouTube tutorials as AI, and Affinity only has videos for each function rather than a full course from beginner to pro, which makes it difficult to learn.

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.

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.

What I like the most about this program is that I can hybrid design by creating vectors with pixel elements. I also like very much that the program has a one-time, lifetime license!

I miss a more intuitive shape builder. there are also a lot of options that I probably don't know and another program uses it, because I already know how to achieve the desired effect in it. There is still little material on youtube, and this is the main source of knowledge I use.

I chose the Affinity Suite as the alternative subscription model for Adobe CC suite wasn't giving me great value.
Designer is a very close match to Illustrator for what I use it for.

As with every new tool, there are subtle differences, but it's not a difficult process to learn and the training material is available.

Coming from Illustrator, it's very easy to adapt to, just minor differences in some workflows, but mostly it's intuitive. It can open and edit Illustrator files if they are pdf compatible, even deal with complex things like knockout groups correctly. It's also has some great ideas that I was pleasantly surprised by that made the workflow better and faster. Affinity devs listen to user feedback and regularly update their apps, so any features that it lacks it will probably get soon.

Lack of a good font manager, it just takes the fonts you have installed in your OS. No Google fonts integration or anything like Adobe Fonts, so if you're missing fonts you have to manually find them online and (buy or) download them the old-fashioned way.

Some odd workflow choices, minor things that can slow you down. Like no native way to permanently reset the bounding box of an object after it has been rotated, they have a toggle that works for 1 operation and switches back to the (skewed or rotated) original. The align UI and the order of actions to chose what to align to what is strange and can waste time. Other minor things like that that I ran into, but all in all it works well and gets the job done.

Affinity designer is super cost-effective. It’s easier to use than most designer software’s. They have a lot of support on their website and tutorials on YouTube.

There are a couple issues that we’ve had while using affinity designer. The program tends to frequently close out by itself. Sometimes I’m unable to download the updates without it crashing. We have to use affinity in conjunction with our Roland BN-20 however some of the add-ons within affinity aren’t compatible and aren’t recognize in versaworks. There aren’t enough tutorials to really grasp everything within affinity. I think it needs a little more work and to be easier to use.

This is the easiest vectoring program I've ever used for lineart and I'm amazed at its affordability compared to insanely-priced subscription services like Adobe.

I only have two gripes with this program. 1) As of the writing of this review, you can't merge vectored strokes into one layer. You can merge multiple shapes into one shape but every vectored line/stroke has its own layer and can only be 'grouped', not merged. When I'm done with a lineart, I want it to be one layer-- not thousands. 2) Protecting/locking PDFs from editing does not seem to be possible at the moment and that's a huge security issue for a lot of artists who don't want their work edited without authorization. Would really like to see this issue fixed.

I use the full Affinity suite (Designer, Photo and Publisher) and am VERY pleased with each. The ability to create and edit files in one and seamlessly switch to the other (e.g. edit photo in Photo and switch over to Designer to do some curved text or other vector work and then switch back to Photo) is amazing, and quite a time saver. I create several print-ready images every month and used to pay a LOT more for CC, which started to become a burden. Switching to Affinity saves me a lot of money (and also time)

Not a complaint, but if this software could somehow use all of the thousands of Photoshop plugins and filters out there, it would be incredible.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 set of features and sensible pricing, updated regularly

Sometimes doesn't export how you'd expect in all formats

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.

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

I love that the Affinity Designer software is a one time purchase and has not become a subscription product like many others have. The product has all the features you need for advanced design work any is a great value for the price that you pay. There is a full range of features and instruction on using the various tools is more and more widely available.

Sometimes I find that the tools in Affinity are not quite as intuitive as some other design software programs but generally a quick internet search will provide the instructions I need to get over the hurdle.

I love the value point, its got a ton of functionality and two sister programs for less than two months Adobe cloud

There's very little, sure it doesn't have animation but that's used rarely and I use rive for that but I create the assets in Affinity

They are constantly improving this software and making it the perfect 1:1 replacement for Adobe Illustrator, without the paywall. It's easy to use and understand while having advanced enough features for even the most technical users.

I wish I had the potential to seamlessly switch between the affinity app suite, like their Publisher software allows. It would be convenient for small changes using tools from my other Affinity products.

Definitely the best tool for vector design, the zoom in is infinite, you can have multiple artboards and layers and with Pixel Persona you can have a little of both worlds and do basic image edit. It is really great that you don't need a subscription.

It can be a little difficult at first, if you learned on a different tool, but once you get used to it you'll love it. I only wish there was a LiveTrace tool, but you can manage without it.

What do I like most about Affinity Designer? EVERYTHING!!! This software replaced an older version of Adobe Suite Desktop. No subscription plan and excellent updates were among the winning reason to switch.

If I had to pick something to not like, it would be that some of my presets and LUT functions could not be imported into Affinity. I do run into some minor issues with layers when importing AI files.