thanks, unfortunately, as I said, no shortcuts were created in the start menu or anywhere else.
actually event viewer does not show anything at least I can identify being relevant.
what I've just done is copy the contents of "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\SerifEuropeLtd.AffinityDesigner2_2.0.0.1640_x64__3cqzy0nppv2rt\App"
somewhere else, and run the .exe directly (as a portable would) - this seems to work, templates show up etc.
of course this isn't ideal - especially for first time users
(ps. I'm a teacher and directed many to affinity programs the last few years, many of them would find this a deal breaker though)