William Overington

I refer to the following post. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/201423-canva/&do=findComment&comment=1202348 There is a sequence of a few posts regarding this, then this post. https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/201423-canva/&do=findComment&comment=1202480 So here is the thread. Although I use Affinity products for work that I consider serious, I am basically a hobbyist user of Affinity products. So I am not intending to participate in this thread, I have simply set it up in the hope that it might be of interest to some users. Though I hope to watch with interest. If people wish to criticise me for starting this thread, please start your own thread to do that and not disrupt this thread from its intended purpose. William

No. If you start the thread that I suggested in this forum then there is the possibility that you might as a result get the forum that you want. Something I read long ago was "Never grumble away your opportunities." You have deemed my suggestion as absurd. Alright, I will try it and see what happens. William

Well, it could be tried and see what happens. William

I know someone has laughed, but it is a genuine suggestion for a thread that hopefully will provide the discussion that @Aurea Ratio seeks. Not a separate forum as such, but the best available with the forums that exist at present. William

You could start a thread in this forum with a title such as the following. A thread for serious customers who use the software for serious purposes You could write the first post in the thread explaining how serious customers and serious purposes are defined for the purposes of the thread. William

I am not seeking numbers, I am asking what kinds of roles and activity are regarded as mid-range professionals and high-end professionals. And, following on, what facilities that Affinity products do not have at present would they be seeking to become implemented in Affinity products. William

Thank you. However, we are looking in this thread at the potential market for Affinity products, what roles people who may or may not consider Affinity perform, as Affinity products are now or how Affinity products could become as a result of the acquisition of Affinity by Canva. William

Thank you, but I was not meaning in that sense, I was meaning in that are they working on illustrations for magazines like Elle and the like, or newspapers, or what? I am retired and just using Affinity products at home, I am wondering what sort of numbers of people are using Affinity products "at work" and is that work always as an independent designer, or as an independent artist producing original art, or are they salaried staff in large companies, and if so, for what are they using Affinity products, perhaps never posting their type of work in the Share your work forum. Is some of it everyday stuff such as catalogues of spare parts for cars and so on? William

Can anyone answer this please? I am one of the hobbyist users of Affinity products and when I use Affinity products it is usually as a tool to produce some output such as a PDF document in relation to some other, basically hobbyist, non-Affinity project that I am doing. I am interested to know please in what ways those various users of Affinity products who are regarded as professional users of Affinity products use Affinity products. William

In the United Kingdom, when advertising on television was first allowed in the mid-1950s, there was the concept introduced of the natural break, as advertisements were only permitted between programmes and at natural breaks within them. William

Who exactly are mid-range professionals and high-end professionals in this context please? For example, do they have a degree from an art school or a Master degree or what please? William

@Bryan Rieger and everybody else, I have seen this thing about some sum of money getting some item at Starbucks (sum of money changes, item changes, always Starbucks) in various places, no, not directed at me, and it seems to be some sort of idiom, possibly American. Is there some explanation of what it means please? William

Well exactly, as you put, "It's a for-profit business, not a charity." So as it wants ideas then it seems to me that, as a for-profit business, it should be willing to pay for them, and do so. William

quest (globalnet.co.uk) William

If they do pay me something at some future time, then that would be because I wrote to them and suggested an idea to them which they took up and it improved their product and increased their sales. It may be that the company would ask for ideas and state upfront that any ideas new to them that they used would result in a payment being made to the person who provided the idea to them. Sort of like a staff suggestion scheme yet for customers. Quite possibly not. One cannot be good at everything. William

Exactly! And perhaps they will pay for ideas that they implement. William

For the avoidance of doubt, I am suggesting payment because a suggestion has been made to the business and the suggestion taken up by the business. I did not purport trying to enforce any supposed intellectual property rights in a legal claim. The two are not the same and should not be conflated as if they are. William

I opine that a Saturn Tool and a Comet Tool in Affinity Designer would be good. William

I note that @R C-R is laughing at that post now too. I wonder why. William

That was then, this is now. Pledge 4 has been made. Just because money has not been paid for suggestions in the past is not a good reason why money should not be paid for suggestions in the future. If you do not want to receive money as a result of providing an idea to Canva which Canva takes up and from which Canva makes money then that is a matter for you. Yet please do not grumble away my opportuities. If I can increase my income in retirement by being paid for ideas that I send in and that are taken up then for me that would be wonderful. I am hoping that @Ash will say, pursuant to Pledge 4, how ideas should be sent, how they will be assessed, and whether payment will be made for any ideas that are taken up. William

Possibly! 😁

Thank you for your suggestions. It appears that some Affinity staff are reading this thread, so they may already be aware of my suggestion of the Saturn Tool and the Comet Tool. Well, I am not in a situation to do that. I am long retired and just going along as best I can. And anyway I do not have the software systems and the knowledge and skills to do that. I just do what I can within the limits that I have. Well, that is your idea. Maybe they will reward you for that idea. I hope so. William

@PaulEC Could you possibly explain please your reasons for laughing at my post? I am puzzled as I wrote that post as a serious contribution to this discussion about Canva acquiring Affinity and the situation going forward. I would be interested to know your thinking please. William

Please suppose that I suggest to Affinity that there be added to the Affinity tools, a Saturn Tool. At present there is a Triangle Tool to draw a triangle, a Star Tool to draw a star, and various other tools, each of which draws a line drawing of a shape. The Saturn Tool would draw a line drawing of a simplified representation of the planet Saturn, a circle and, from mid lower left to mid upper right of the bounding box, the rings, shown open. I could also suggest a Comet Tool too. Suppose that the Affinity Team assess these ides and agree that they would be a good addition to Affinity Designer and they become implemented. It seems to me entirely reasonable to consider that Canva might send me a letter, no lawyer's jargon, no deeming of anything assigned, just a nice letter thanking me for my suggestion, saying it has been accepted and as an expression of our thanks, please find enclosed a cheque for you. I know that that might not happen, but I consider that it is a scenario that could credibly happen and is entirely reasonable to discuss as a possibility for the future bearing in mind that Pledge 4 constructively seeks ideas from the user community and that Canva is a business and could make money from implementing those ideas. Suppose that I suggest an additional Affinity product, Affinity Constellations. It can be sold separately, or as part of a four program bundle, the three program bundle continuing to be available. So the number sold and the revenue from selling licences for Affinity Constellations could be reliably determined. So a royalty for the suggestion could be paid based on that number and that revenue as Canva decided would be fair. Affinity Constellations would allow entry from the other Affinity programs so as to access toolboxes with three tools for each constellatiion from The Little Bear to the Southern Cross, a simple line illustration accurately showing the stars in that constellation, a version of that augmented with a line drawing showing the supposed image, for example, Pegasus as a winged horse, and a version of each such image in full colour. It is a matter for Affinity management to decide whether they like that idea, but if they do and it gets implemented and there are lots of sales of licences then it seems reasonable to me that I receive some money as a thank you for suggesting the idea. William

Yes there is, I could accept their word about it. That would depend upon the nature of the idea. No, the designer provides the design for the logo, the sportswear manufacturer implements it as woven thread in thousands of items of clothing. William