Affinity Designer Reviews

I've been using affinity for about 3 years.
It's soooo easy so great and mostly, SO QUICK !
I love designing with this software !
User experience is very cool, the customization is amazing.
And the price it's like we give it to you !

I can only recommend that software !

Sometimes, I need to go to Illustrator for some specific features such as color overall management or width modification. Anyway, there are a lot of innovative feature on Illustrator that i'd love to see on affinity.

I love that this is a one-time purchase software that is really cheap for small studios and freelancers. If you make any amount of money with design, there is no reason why you should not get Affinity Designer.
Blazingly fast, you can scroll, zoom, and create designs super quickly and smoothly.
I love the fact that you can use it for basic "Photoshop"y things as well.

The pathfinding options are clunky.
Lack of useful features like "blend tool", "shape builder tool"
Lack of basic features like a vector-based pattern fill.
Edge artifacts when exporting.

The interface is user-friendly, although there is definitely a learning curve coming from other vector design packages. I appreciate that there is a library of built-in shapes. When I'm trying to work through a design, I'd rather not have to draw a call-out or a cog or a heart. It's nice to be able to just pop them in. I also find that the basic text tool is friendlier than other packages.

There are some features that don't work as intended or are missing entirely, when compared against other vector design software. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to auto-trace a raster image, which would be helpful for my use.

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

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.

Affiniity Designer easily and immediately replaced my existing vector graphics program I was using before it (Illustrator). As such there was no major learning curve or wasted time switching over. Further, even though there is no subscription required, the software only continues to improve!

Even though it's not a major change from Illustrator, you do have to get used to a few things that are different. Not a big deal.

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.

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.

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'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.

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! 🏆

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.

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.

A solid bitmap tracing option would be nice.

An easy-to-use layout design tool that is capable of absolutely everything I need to do. I've been in the creative industry for over 30 years and Affinity Designer can handle everything I'm throwing at it from logo design and layout to full-blown artwork, and art collections I'm developing. It integrates well with the Affinity family of products (obviously). Essentially it's easy, fast, full-featured, and straightforward to get started. I used to use Illustrator (a little) but now I use Affinity and have never looked back. The transition took me minutes rather than hours. It's very intuitive.

I haven't hit any limitations with the software yet. I always generally feel the things we don't like about the software is that we've mainly not learned how to use particular features or combinations yet, so really it's on us to work it out and innovate. Sure in any software there can be occasional bugs. But I haven't come across any yet, or anything particularly frustrating about the workflow, tool, or system as a whole.

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.

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 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.

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.

-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.

-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.

It's a powerful tool for vectorial drawing, it has everything a designer needs to create, it's very easy to use and learn and can switch with other raster drawing software (affinity photo).
The computer requirements are very low, so the software can work even on old computers. It has been developer both for Mac and Win, and has a full compatibility with Adobe's Suite.

The interaction with wacom's graphic tablets could be improved. That's all.