Premium retro and vintage graphic design and illustration resources including brushes, textures, fonts, templates, tutorials, freebies, and more. Our products work on Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Affinity. Similar to Illustrator, Affinity gives you the ability to use the Shift key to constrain the proportions of the shape while dragging (useful when creating squares, perfect circles, etc.), and/or the Control key to draw or resize the shape from the center out.

Affinity Designer is a powerful graphic editor that works both with vector and raster graphics, therefore it is more universal. Illustrator is a professional program for working with vector graphics. It has a huge set of tools, so many software developers try to imitate its features. All in all, Affinity Designer is a rockstar alternative to Adobe Illustrator. When designers switch from Adobe to Affinity, it’s usually due to the economic factor, but then they end up loving the features and the workspace. Nevertheless, Affinity designer has a few cons in comparison to Adobe Illustrator.

Most people who work in graphic design are familiarwith the products from Adobe. Well, there are other options that you may wantto consider for efficient work. One of these options is Affinity Designer, agreat vector editor that could meet all of your expectations.

Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard for vector graphics. While Affinity Designer is a great alternative in terms of functionality, Affinity hasn’t been embraced as much as Adobe Creative Cloud. Until Affinity increases its suite of programs, Adobe will still have a leg up. Adobe has been the software mammoth of the creative industry.

You probably heard about similar programs such as CorelDrawor Sketch, but you weren’t impressed by the functions they offer compared toAdobe products. This article is meant to give you a clear description of Affinity Designerand Adobe Illustrator, to help you make a choice.

Affinity Illustrator Ipad

As a graphic designer, the best possible option is to know how all programs work and use them according to your own needs. Some tasks can be completed easier in one program while others are suitable for a different one.

Once you learn how to use a program, you won’t forget any longer, and everything will become much easier.Try all of them and decide for yourselfwho wins in the battle of Affinity Designer vsAdobeIllustrator. Here’s what you need to know:

Affinity Designer

Serif Europe launched an Affinity Designer in 2014. It is a vector graphics editor that works with both Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows. Affinity can now be used on devices such as the iPad, which proves its flexibility.

Besides that, Affinity can open PDFs and other Adobe files and export work to these specific formats. Exporting in SVG or EPS is also available while using Affinity. The fact that you can work with so many sizes allows you to use both Affinity Designer and Illustrator or your other preferred software.

The experts at Serif promise that Affinity is the right program for those who want fast, precise vector graphic design processing. The team spent more than five years to develop the software, to deliver exceptional quality in terms of features, tool, functions, and panel.

Any creative professional who wants to show off hisskills should try Affinity Designer at least once in a lifetime.

Affinity Designer is suitable for a graphic designer who specializes in illustrations, creating icons, who work with branding or UI design, with typography or mock-ups. The program also offers excellent resources for people who desire to create quality web graphics or concept art.

Regardless of the graphic design field that you areworking in, Affinity Designer can suit your preferences. Starting with its veryintuitive interface and the flexible import/export feature, you should alreadyhave a reason to try Affinity.

Graphicdesigners should work with all sorts of programs in order to get the best out of them. You may You will learn more about the features ofAffinity Designer later in this article.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is another vector graphics editor that was developed by Adobe Systems. The very first version of Adobe Illustrator was launched in 1987, 31 years ago. It is impressive, but not shocking given the popularity of the Adobe brand.

The lateststable release was Adobe Illustrator CC 2018, launched in March, this year. Theprogram is entirely built in C++, and it works on both Windows and macOS. Thesystem requirements for a program such as the new Illustrator CC are average.

You cansearch this website for more information related to the tools any graphicdesigner should possess for a successful career. You will learn there about agood PC or laptop and the implied system requirements.

Illustrator also supports various series of formats for the files. From all sorts of Adobe files and AutoCAD drawings to JPEG and SVG, Adobe Illustrator can open all. It is not as flexible as Affinity, but it still has a lot of available options that you might want to explore.

AdobeIllustrator is recommended for graphicdesigners who want to pursue a career in this field, as most companies requireproficient knowledge in Adobe Illustrator. Almost every industry that workswith design and visuals consider Adobe products essential.

Itrepresents a one-up in case you want tobuild an eye-catching resume. Of course, any other program you know how to usewill look good next to Illustrator.

Thepossibilities that Adobe Illustrator offers are incrediblynumerous, and this is why graphic designers are only supposed to learn thebasics and let their imagination run free.

Plus, usingIllustrator and Photoshop together can be extremely useful in graphic design, and it’s easier to switch betweenprograms coming from the same developer. Continue reading this article forlearning more about the features of each program.

Feature list – AffinityDesigner

In thebattle of Affinity Designer vs AdobeIllustrator, these are the features that Affinity brings to the table:

1. Constant Improvements And Updates

UsingAffinity means that you will get plenty of updatesthat improve your already existent features. The most expected updates usuallyconsist of smoother panning/zooming, handling largerdocuments easier, exporting documents at higher quality and so on.

It isimportant to update the program regularly so that users get a fix to any issuethey encounter as fast as possible.

2. 1,000,000% Zoom

If you work with graphics – and vectors, especially – you probably know how important zooming is. Smooth zooming is a condition of creating fine details to vector work.

With Affinity, you will get a CAD-like precision, which is exactly what you were looking for as a designer. Plus, you can easily switch between different zoom levels.

3. Rich History

You are aware of how essential redo steps are in the creation process. Ctrl+Z is a life savior for all graphic designers, but to undo actions you’ve made, you need a rich history.

Affinity offers an option to save history and undo certain steps later in the process – how convenient is that? Also, you can undo steps that you previously performed in other Affinity suite apps, which is incredible.

4. Rapidity

Working at 60fps is a must for all graphic designers who want to deliver quality work and respect deadlines at the same time. Affinity offers users a live preview of all the transformations they make to the projects: gradients, effects, blend modes, adjustment layers, etc.

The fact that the program is so fast can help graphic designers achieve the exact result they wish for.

5. Samples

Even though many programs started to include professional examples into their main new project tab, Affinity works with such things from the very beginning.

You can take a better look at what other illustrators and graphic designer came up with and borrow some inspiration from the samples included in the price of Affinity.

6. Intuitive Design

You want a platform that’s easy to use and easy to remember, right? Well, all the icons in Affinity are built by other extremely talented creative professionals – just as you are.

You will love the way the interface looks like and the fact that it is so facile to work with. The only thing you have to do is open up the program and take a look at the perfectly organized interface.

7. One-Price Only

Tired of paying monthly or yearly subscriptions for your graphic design software? Affinity Designer involves a one-time payment only.

You no longer have to spend a considerable amount of money on subscriptions, as everything comes as a unitary product, including updates. All you have to do is pay for the product in advance, and it is yours to use forever.

8. Multilanguage

You are not good with English, and you would like the program to run in your native language? Don’t worry – there are a lot of options when it comes to languages in Affinity.

You can choose the US or UK English, German, French, Spanish or even Portuguese. Lately, the team introduced Japanese, Chinese and Russian as main languages for the interface.

9. Highly Customizable

As graphic designers, we like to make things look exactly the way we want them to. This is the reason why we are always in search of customizable programs. Affinity is one of them.

You can set shortcuts for all sorts of actions; you can use a generic multi-button device (e.g., your graphics tablet), you can access a hint line whenever you don’t understand an icon or an option and many more.

10. Different Modes

You want to work in vectors, pixels or you want to export something you uploaded? Affinity has it all.

Any format you will export is compatible with other formats supported by the Affinity suite. Switching between modes is a feature that’s very useful for graphic designers who work a lot with all sorts of formats.

Feature List – AdobeIllustrator

Now, continuingwith Adobe Illustrator features

1. Dropbox Smart Sync

A graphic designer would always want to access his files anywhere, anytime. Well, Adobe Illustrator allows Dropbox Smart Sync. What does it mean?

When you want to locate something from your Dropbox inventory, you no longer have to download it beforehand – you simply open it directly from the library.

2. Importing Multiple Page Files

Do you want to import a PDF file that has more than one page into a graphic design program? Seems quite unreal, but with Illustrator you can do that without much effort.

You no longer have to import single-page PDFs into the document – simply choose a page range or the whole document and import it in Illustrator.

3. Easy To Use Artboard And Great Panel Organization

Just as in the case of Affinity, the interface is quite friendly. If you are a graphic designer since forever, you’ll get a grip on the artboard and panel very quickly.

The icons are the ones Adobe already convinced us with, and the organization is facile. They even included support for the new MacBook Pro’s touch bar.

4. Fast Document Creation

The goal is to create a new document as fast as possible. Adobe Illustrator rocks when it comes to fast document creation.

The process is straightforward, and it won’t take up as many resources as you think. It’s just that they improved the program in time and everything runs smoothly.

Affinity Illustrator Ipad

5. Adobe Stock Templates

Adobe Stock is comparable to the templates offered by Affinity, but thisis wider. You can lookup anything you need in the Stock section and see if you can find anythinguseful there.

For graphic designers, this might be ideal, but remember that you’ll pay a monthly subscription for Adobe Illustrator, which includes the access to Adobe Stock.

6. Adobe Integration

Integratingyour Illustrator files with other products from the Adobe suite is easier thanever. You can copy pieces of artwork from one program to another with ease.

Using AdobeIllustrator and want to make some adjustments in Experience Design CC? Justcopy and paste the file into place and start working right away.

7. Live Shapes

Youprobably know already how to use live shapesin Adobe Illustrator. The latest updates came with an entirely new way to craftvector shapes in an instant.

Since it isso vital for graphic designers to workfast and efficiently, this interactive feature of Adobe Illustrator willtransform everything into something morecomfortable than you were used with. You can apply effects and use other toolsdirectly to the live shapes.

8. Smart Guides

Everyone knows how important alignment is when it comes to designing something great. No one wants to use an actual ruler to set things right, so what if you’d have a little help on that matter?

Adobe Illustrator has a handy feature that is called smart guides, and it helps the user draw perfect shapes using control keys only. How cool is that?

9. Faster Zoom

We talkedearlier about how vital zooming in veryfast is. Also, zooming in a lot is essentialfor fine details. Take into account both of these options when you are choosingthe program you will work with.

Famous Graphic Illustrators

Luckily,Adobe Illustrator includes both of them, along with faster pan and scroll. Whenworking on a bigger panel, scrolling fast and preciselywhere you need is essential. Compared to Affinity, Illustrator can only zoom in at 64000%

10. Touch And Pen Pressure Control

Any graphic designer owns a graphics tablet or another similar device. Integrating it with the software you are using is a must.

Adobe Illustrator allows users to set preferences regarding touch and pen pressure control, which can be very helpful in creating artwork that involves fine details. Plus, it is faster to work this way.

The Final Decision: AffinityDesigner Vs Adobe Illustrator

Now thatyou got the bigger picture regarding the fight between Affinity Designer vs Adobe Illustrator, it’s time to conclude. What program is the most suitable foryour situation? The answer might shock you – both are great.

The secretto finding what’s the best choice for yourself is to try working with differentproducts. If you complete one task easier with Affinity and another one moreefficiently with Illustrator, investing in both is the right choice.

But if youare limited on a budget and would still like to deliver the best work possible,choosing one of them (or other similar programs) is a condition. Reading aboutthe features of the program you are interested in might help to make the final decision.

Thisarticle should have answered at least some of your questions related to thistopic. If not, never cease to look for more info and clarify anything you haveon mind. It’s essential to stay up todate with the latest trends and updates.

A good graphic designer should know how to use any program he is given.This way, you make sure that you are building a successful career and employers will seek your services as top ones.

Affinity Designer and Adobe Illustrator are just two of the possible graphic design products you can use, but the market is open, and there are many other options to discover out there.

At thebeginning of your career, you should focus on one or two programs and mastereach feature of them. After that, you will find it easier to get used withother software products that have similar uses likethe ones you learned in the past. Don’tforget that budget is always an issue.

Compareprices and what the products have to offer and make the best choice for yourparticular situation. Don’t rely on what other people say and stick to whatmakes you comfortable.

Check out other articles on this site to improve your knowledge in the field of graphic design, and you’ll notice how fast you become better at it.

If you’re interested in other Affinity products, you can also read my review about Affinity Publisher vs. Adobe InDesign here on DesignyUp.

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If you haven’t heard, Affinity Designer is a vector-based app that truly gives Adobe Illustrator a run for its money. Designed by Serif out of the UK, Affinity Designer has been created by designers for designers and holds a variety of features that are smartly chosen and super useful for creatives. Affinity Designer essentially functions like an Illustrator and Photoshop hybrid, bringing in features from both apps. Whether you are a branding, print, web, or package designer, Affinity Designer has something for you.

The interface design has a familiarity to it that most people will like. Affinity Designer looks like an Adobe product, and that’s good. Smart, intuitive and well-organized, creatives will have no problem adapting to working in the Affinity Designer environment.

Affinity Designer provides a compatible app as well. It supports a large collection of file types like EPS, PDF, PNG, TIFF, and GIF for import and export. File conversion is also simple—you can open a PSD, AI, or EPS file and edit them right from within Affinity Designer. While saving back to AI format isn’t a feature, you can save anything you are working on as a PSD.

Perhaps most importantly, Affinity Designer is affordable, it costs $39.99 to buy and you’re not tied into a subscription with this app. Right now they are offering a special appealing to web designers—you get 20% off as well and the Grade UI kit for $58.

Until recently Affinity Designer was only available for MAC, however, they have recently released a Beta Windows version, which you can download here.

Here Is Why Affinity Designer Stands Out

• Affinity Designer supports a wide color space including RGB, CMYK, Lab, Grayscale and Pantone.
• You can Zoom over 1,000,000%, which makes creating refined design work much easier.
• Adjustments and effects are non-destructive. You can apply as many effects as you like and still revert back to your original.
• A huge library of adjustment layers, effects and blend modes you can apply to masks and clipping layers.
• Custom workspaces for many kinds of projects.
• A fun, useful and comprehensive shape library and shapes you can adjust and modify with easy-to-understand controls.
• Refined typographic control and text styles.
• Powerful artboards designed with responsive and app design in mind.
• Support for Symbols. You can make one instance of an object, like a button, use it across a project, but have to change it only once.

Margaret Penney is the Managing Editor of Notes on Design. Margaret is a teacher, designer, writer and new media artist and founder of Hello Creative Co.

For creatives seeking a thorough training in illustration and graphic design, Sessions College offers accredited fully online illustration certificate and illustration degree programs. Contact Admissions for more information.