Bryan Rieger

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Thank you @Ash for this commitment, both from Affinity and Canva - although I do wish this was released yesterday along with the acquisition announcement as it could have stemmed 20 odd pages of discussion, speculation, and anger.
I'd 'thank you' in the reactions, but sadly I have no more to give today (the forum won't let me).
Very happy to read this, and really looking forward to ePub (hopefully both fixed and reflowable) export!

Probably staying with Adobe (after 10 years I was never able to fully rid myself of them), and slowly beginning to migrate all of my Affinity Designer files to Illustrator and Photoshop. Not happy to be back primarily with Adobe, but it's the devil I know, well.
Depending on where the Affinity apps end up going under Canva's control I might re-evaluate down the road. I do fear however that development priorities for Canva will far outweigh any of the endless requests from Affinity users over the years.
I’m also a little concerned that Canva may choose to force cloud storage on the Affinity apps (and users) much like Linearity (another Canva competitor) did when they rebranded Vectornator to Curve.
Update: after reading @Ash's update on The Affinity and Canva Pledge I'm feeling a little more optimistic about the acquisition, although I do hope that fixing long-term issues, UI/UX fixes, and improving overall stability aren't pushed aside in favour of shiny new features. The acquisition and this statement indicates that Canva and Affinity are indeed in it for the long-haul, and as such, I hope they both see the value in ensuring the underlying foundation is rock-solid before moving at pace towards the future.

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, as Adobe has clearly shown in recent years with the 'dumbing down' of their user interfaces, and the introduction of tools like Express (Adobe's answer to Canva), Fresco (Adobe's answer to Procreate), slimmed down web versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, and Premiere Rush (social media video editor) that they are very much interested in also competing in the market for 'light creatives' as you call them (which is a HUGE market). As such, Canva is indeed in competition with Adobe, and needs a complement of tools that speaks to a more professional audience, integrates with their existing product(s), and enables collaboration between the two in order to attract users/orgs that currently (or want to) use Canva, but whose creative teams, agencies, etc still demand to use 'professional' tools to work in, and collaborate with their clients.
Like it or not, creative software has been/is being democratized, and the idea of what constitutes 'a professional creative' is shifting, which means that the biggest market by far is now found in the MASSIVE (and very cost conscious) middle.
I'm not defending the acquisition, just trying to shed some light on how it might fit the overall strategies at play.
'Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been' and all that.

In hindsight, you probably should have led with that. That lack of faith has been there a while, this announcement just made it worse.

In hindsight, you probably should have led with that. That lack of faith has been there a while, this announcement just made it worse.

They're probably much more concerned with the massive marketshare Canva already has in the casual user/consumer/prosumer/business space that Adobe is desperate to gain a toe-hold in with products such as Adobe Express and Premiere Rush. The Affinity Suite (if managed correctly) might begin to eat into Adobe's professional line if Canva can successfully tie it into their existing product(s) as a tool for professional designers, agencies, etc to collaborate with clients using the Canva platform.
We'll see… but I won't hold my breath.

In hindsight, you probably should have led with that. That lack of faith has been there a while, this announcement just made it worse.

Let me guess... it'll be something about "future updates"...

In hindsight, you probably should have led with that. That lack of faith has been there a while, this announcement just made it worse.

Nope, but personally I wouldn't risk investing even more of my work with it going forward. The thought of having to migrate another 1-3 years more of Affinity files down the road doesn't sound particularly enticing at the moment—especially as NO OTHER APPLICATION can read or work with the Affinity *.afwhatever file format.

Dangling the "future update" carrot in front of your users for so long is why Serif is in the position they are in today. Just want to underscore that that this is yet another carrot they are tossing at users with promises of happy endings. Yeah, OK.
I've been done with using broken software that constantly fudges output and can't even be bothered to give me proper viewport of what I'm working on, so I've already been transitioning away back to Adobe.
I saw this in my email and if there is a word that describes the opposite of shocked but with similar intensity, that's where I am. I actually appreciate Serif, for once, delivering on clarity where the priorities actually lie. So yes, with 0 regrets, I now watch this space as a piece of software history and will ignore all toxic moonspeak that the average user will be continue to be subjected to in order to justify a poor history on bug fixes and delivery.
Also, I'm sure someone else has posted this already, but this aged great:




Thank you to staff and I sincerely hope this means good things to you each individually. It's been a pleasure.

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, as Adobe has clearly shown in recent years with the 'dumbing down' of their user interfaces, and the introduction of tools like Express (Adobe's answer to Canva), Fresco (Adobe's answer to Procreate), slimmed down web versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, and Premiere Rush (social media video editor) that they are very much interested in also competing in the market for 'light creatives' as you call them (which is a HUGE market). As such, Canva is indeed in competition with Adobe, and needs a complement of tools that speaks to a more professional audience, integrates with their existing product(s), and enables collaboration between the two in order to attract users/orgs that currently (or want to) use Canva, but whose creative teams, agencies, etc still demand to use 'professional' tools to work in, and collaborate with their clients.
Like it or not, creative software has been/is being democratized, and the idea of what constitutes 'a professional creative' is shifting, which means that the biggest market by far is now found in the MASSIVE (and very cost conscious) middle.
I'm not defending the acquisition, just trying to shed some light on how it might fit the overall strategies at play.
'Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been' and all that.

The positive: this longer video explains more than the version on Instagram/Threads.
The negative: But it still doesn't really explain why the future will be bright and exciting for Users. I assume it's bright and exciting for Affinity Staff because of the quantity of shiny new coins they're now looking at. So, I'm not going to lie, I'm worried. I'd be more worried if I wasn't already transitioning to Figma due to the myriad of outstanding problems and bugs that have remained unresolved for years. The body language, spoken language used or not used, and the moments where there is loss of eye contact in this video screams to highlight the bits that are true versus...not so true.
Not a great day for Affinity Users.

It seems like everyone posting here assumes that regardless of the pricing model, the programs will not change in the future. There's much, much more at stake than the price.

Hi All,

I am thrilled to announce that Affinity is joining the Canva family.
This is a moment of great excitement, anticipation, and profound gratitude for all of you who have been part of our story so far. 
We know that those of you who’ve put your faith in Affinity, some since we launched our very first Mac app, will have questions about what this means for the future of our products. Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish. We've worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. 
None of that changes today.
In Canva, we’ve found a kindred spirit who can help us take Affinity to new levels. Their extra resources will mean we can deliver much more, much faster. Beyond that, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities which previously would never have been achievable. 
Canva’s revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision. This union is a testament to what can be achieved when two companies that share a common goal of making design accessible and enjoyable for everyone come together. 
I want to express my deepest gratitude to our incredible Affinity team. Your passion, dedication, and relentless pursuit of excellence have been the driving force behind our success so far, and I can’t wait to continue this journey with you all. 
To our loyal users and the creative community, your support and feedback have been invaluable. You’ve inspired us to push boundaries and continuously improve, and we’re excited to embark on this new chapter together. 
The future is bright, and I am incredibly excited to continue our story together and create a world where design is within everyone's reach.
With heartfelt thanks,
Ash
For more information...
We have included some FAQs at the bottom of the announcement article here. A video message from me with some more background is on YouTube here.  

Additionally we will be setting up a Q&A session about this acquisition in a few weeks time. More info on how to take part in this will be sent on email and posted on this forum in the coming days.

So, a company without experience with true professionals à la Adobe's is buying another company without experience with true professionals à la Adobe's. That's quite a match, and it indeed brings uncertainty about the future. Let's see if Canva will prioritize their hefty 135 million monthly active users and investment higher than the mere 3 million from Affinity. Perhaps the concept of the fundamentally simple and shared architecture and code in Affinity is something Canva can leverage, but honestly, I don't see Affinity's retrospective products and few customers, who mostly chose Affinity due to economic reasons, as having potential for growth and increased market shares for either Canva or others.
Canva has invested in something small that benefits Canva. Serif Software survives the AI tsunami a bit longer. Affinity? If it exists in 5 years, I imagine it'll come with many templates for birthdays and gender reveal parties.

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, as Adobe has clearly shown in recent years with the 'dumbing down' of their user interfaces, and the introduction of tools like Express (Adobe's answer to Canva), Fresco (Adobe's answer to Procreate), slimmed down web versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, and Premiere Rush (social media video editor) that they are very much interested in also competing in the market for 'light creatives' as you call them (which is a HUGE market). As such, Canva is indeed in competition with Adobe, and needs a complement of tools that speaks to a more professional audience, integrates with their existing product(s), and enables collaboration between the two in order to attract users/orgs that currently (or want to) use Canva, but whose creative teams, agencies, etc still demand to use 'professional' tools to work in, and collaborate with their clients.
Like it or not, creative software has been/is being democratized, and the idea of what constitutes 'a professional creative' is shifting, which means that the biggest market by far is now found in the MASSIVE (and very cost conscious) middle.
I'm not defending the acquisition, just trying to shed some light on how it might fit the overall strategies at play.
'Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been' and all that.

An astounding prophecy has been made in this post: 
And one half of it has now become reality.
 

This. Affinity was already becoming so painful for my work. I've opened so many bugs over the years I've lost count. How many have been fixed? Zero! No bug I've ever opened has been fixed. I Agree most acquisitions have negative consequences, but the development pace of Affinity had already almost come to a stop.
As such, I've already been in the uncomfortable position that moving to Adobe might be necessary anyway. So in that respect, I can only hope with more resources available development pace will accelerate. Of course it will probably be worse initially. It will take time to build a new team, train them etc.

I'm not sure I'd agree with this, as Adobe has clearly shown in recent years with the 'dumbing down' of their user interfaces, and the introduction of tools like Express (Adobe's answer to Canva), Fresco (Adobe's answer to Procreate), slimmed down web versions of Illustrator and Photoshop, and Premiere Rush (social media video editor) that they are very much interested in also competing in the market for 'light creatives' as you call them (which is a HUGE market). As such, Canva is indeed in competition with Adobe, and needs a complement of tools that speaks to a more professional audience, integrates with their existing product(s), and enables collaboration between the two in order to attract users/orgs that currently (or want to) use Canva, but whose creative teams, agencies, etc still demand to use 'professional' tools to work in, and collaborate with their clients.
Like it or not, creative software has been/is being democratized, and the idea of what constitutes 'a professional creative' is shifting, which means that the biggest market by far is now found in the MASSIVE (and very cost conscious) middle.
I'm not defending the acquisition, just trying to shed some light on how it might fit the overall strategies at play.
'Skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it's been' and all that.

While this announcement doesn't fill me with confidence—Serif as a company has never really filled me with confidence (Canva even less)—this announcement really does read like every other acquisition that unfortunately didn't go so well for the existing customer base.
Undoubtably with this acquisition things will change, whether that's for the better or not (and let's be honest, the current pace of development, regressions, bugs, UX/UI issues, etc with Serif isn't great) — only time will tell. I'm not optimistic, but it's day one. I'm willing to cut both Canva and Serif a little slack for the time being, and see how they both respond to all of the negative reactions, and what actions they take in the next 90 days (hell, the acquisition itself took less than 60) to demonstrate good faith on their messages and directions.
For me 'Canva' and 'professional' are words that simply do not go together well. If it really is their intention to further develop the Affinity apps into a 'professional' offering to compete directly with Adobe, then they have a very big mountain to climb.
Worst case for me is simply abandoning the Affinity apps and continuing to use the Adobe apps that I've never been able to fully shift away from after almost ten years of trying.