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Are you losing your Affinity with Adobe?

by | Oct 6, 2020 | Create4 Blog | 0 comments

I’ve used Adobe software for well over 20 years, in the beginning it was mainly Photoshop – QuarkXpress ruled DTP, and Freehand was just plain better than Illustrator.

With the launch of InDesign and Creative Suite, like many, I switched to using Adobe for just about everything, the software was good and the pricing was reasonable… well in the early days anyway!

However in the last few years I’ve had the feeling that Adobe has followed the path Quark took many years ago. They’ve become greedy. Since the introduction of Creative Cloud, users has been forced into an expensive subscription cycle, like it or not.

With the lack of a proper competitor it seemed they had an unbreakable stranglehold on the market. But, at last, there is a genuine contender ready to challenge… Affinity by Serif.

You might remember Serif as the company that used to produce graphics software for the PC. Well, in Affinity Photo they now have a true Photoshop rival. In Affinity Designer they have a vector program better than Illustrator. And the final piece in the jigsaw – Affinity Publisher, the first real professional alternative to InDesign.

Affinity begins the change…

I really like Affinity Photo, it’s been built from the ground up and as a result is super fast. The feel is familiar enough to make you feel comfortable but different enough to make it exciting. I honestly haven’t enjoyed using new software this much for years.

Affinity Designer is better in many ways than Illustrator – I know that’s a big statement, but I really think it is. Like many designers I preferred Freehand – until Adobe bought it and killed it. Affinity Designer is much closer in feel to Freehand, and that’s a joy.

Affinity Publisher probably has the biggest job on it’s hands though. Many people have worked with InDesign for years – using something new is alien. I’d class this one as a ‘work in progress’. It’s another great piece of software, but it’s the biggest learning curve of the three. Read my post on Affinity Publisher for a more in depth overview.

Oh, and I almost forgot to say the Affinity products are VERY well priced… and no subscription is required! So if you fancy a capable, and cheaper, alternative why not try them out for yourself – all are available with a free weeks trial. This is NOT an affiliate link just a personal recommendation.

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