Navigating the Art of Change (Part 2 - Update on My Switch from Adobe to Affinity)

Hello fellow creatives!

It’s been about two months since I made the leap from Adobe Creative Cloud to the Affinity suite of products, and I thought it was about time to share an update on how things are going. If you caught my first post on the switch, you know I was excited yet nervous about leaving Adobe behind – especially since I had been so deeply accustomed to using Photoshop and Illustrator in my creative process. (If you haven't yet read my first post on the change, you can read it here.) Now, after a couple of months with Affinity, I can honestly say I couldn’t be happier with the change. Here's why.

The Transition and What I Missed from Adobe

When my Adobe subscription ended, I decided not to renew it, mainly due to the high cost and my concerns over Adobe’s new Terms of Service. So, I took the plunge and purchased the entire Affinity suite – Designer, Photo, and Publisher – and I haven’t looked back. Sure, there are a few things I miss about Adobe. For example, Illustrator’s color picker tool was a favorite of mine, and Photoshop's “pattern preview” was pretty convenient. Not to mention all the AI functionality Adobe is pushing these days.

But even with these minor losses, I’ve found that Affinity has more than made up for it with its own unique capabilities.

Affinity’s Workarounds and Surprises

I was nervous about whether I'd be able to replicate all my old workflows, but I quickly found that Affinity has solutions – and sometimes, even better ways of doing things. Here are a few examples:

• Raster and Vector: One of the things I love about Affinity Designer is how easily it handles both raster and vector elements. One of the best features is the concept of "Personas." Let me give you an example: when I'm creating a pattern in Affinity Designer (similar to Adobe Illustrator), I can work with both vector and raster/pixel images for my designs. While in the Designer Persona, I have all the vector tools and menus available, and if I need to edit any pixel-based items, I just switch to the Photo Persona to access the pixel tools and menus from Affinity Photo (similar to Adobe Photoshop). I can even apply pixel modifications to vector items, like adding a pixel-based texture to a vector shape. This flexibility makes my creative process so much smoother.

• Recolor Adjustment Layer: When working with vector shapes, recoloring is a breeze. But, recoloring pixel images was always a bit of a chore in Photoshop. Maybe I missed this one in Photoshop before, but in Affinity, you can apply a "Recolor" adjustment to a pixel layer and type in the HSL (Hue, Saturation, Levels) of the exact color you want. This has been a game-changer in the way I work with raster files to recolor.

• Live Pattern Preview: Seeing and testing my seamless patterns with Photoshop's Pattern Preview tool was nice. But, with just a little setup, I discovered that I could have a live pattern preview in Affinity Designer that works just as well (if not better!). It takes some initial setup, but once it’s ready, it feels like I’m right back in the groove with my pattern work. 

And that’s not all – Affinity brought some unexpected surprises to the table:

• Switching Personas: The ability to switch between Designer, Photo, and Publisher “personas” across the Affinity suite is fantastic. It’s like having all the tools you need at your fingertips, no matter which app you’re working in. It’s a level of integration I didn’t know I needed, but now I don’t want to live without.

• Affinity Publisher vs. Adobe InDesign: I used to use Adobe InDesign quite a bit, and I have to say – Affinity Publisher is, in my opinion, hands-down better. It’s so user-friendly, and I love how well it integrates with Designer and Photo. It makes my workflow feel cohesive, instead of fragmented across different tools.

The Price Tag and Corporate Culture

I was waiting to see if Adobe might offer me a “deal” after my subscription expired, but they never did. To be honest, I wasn’t really thrilled with Adobe as a corporate citizen, so I didn’t feel inclined to give them more of my money. Affinity’s pricing, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. Their six-month free trial came at just the right time for me, and before my trial was up, I was more than happy to purchase the entire suite – especially since they were offering 50% off at that time.

The Canva Acquisition – What’s Next for Affinity?

Recently, Serif (Affinity’s parent company) was purchased by Canva, and there has been a lot of speculation about what this could mean for Affinity going forward. I know change can sometimes be concerning, especially when it comes to the tools we rely on. But Affinity put out a statement reassuring users that they wouldn’t be changing their current business model, which is a one-time purchase instead of a subscription. I do expect that Canva will probably add new options or features that can be purchased separately, but for now, I’m just happy with how things are.

Final Thoughts

After two months of working with Affinity, I’m thrilled with the switch. The transition has been smoother than I expected, and I’ve found that Affinity not only matches my old Adobe workflow but, in many ways, improves upon it. The tools are powerful, easy to use, and have helped me stay creative without the stress of a steep subscription cost hanging over my head.

I’ve learned that change, especially when it involves stepping away from something so familiar, can be daunting. But it can also open up new possibilities and give us exactly what we need. Affinity has done that for me, and I’m excited to see where this new chapter takes me.

If you’re on the fence about making a change, I encourage you to take the leap. At least take them up on the 6-month free trial. You might just find that what’s waiting for you on the other side is even better than you imagined.

As Robin Sharma once said, 'Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.'

Thanks for joining me on this journey of navigating change. Until next time, keep creating and embracing all the wonderful changes that come your way!

https://www.nicoletoerber.art/home