Canva

[Sid J]

Yesterday...  Affinity V2 Suite, 2.4.1 Updates on All Platforms
Today... end of the line

[Bit Disappointed]

Just now, Bryan Rieger said:

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.

I've always said that Affinity didn't meet the needs of professional customers in terms of features, usability, and algorithms, regardless of what people screamed and what marketing said, and I still believe I'm right that Serif's customer base reflects my claim, and that it is precisely the REAL composition of the customer base that Canva is targeting, but unfortunately, it's especially the part of the customer base that points away from professionals and perhaps even away from prosumers.

There's an obvious reason Canva is buying Serif and not Adobe; Canva is NOT supposed to compete with Adobe because they are targeting different types of customers with far, far, far less needs and a need for automation. In other words, today is the day you see the clearest sign of whom Serif has been making software for all these years.

Canva is not supposed to compete with Adobe, as a silly journalist wrote. They're meant to heavily dominate the market for light creatives - or people with immediate creative needs.

[henryanthony]

LOL! I still have Adobe CS2 on my XP machine! If worse comes to worse...

[KarinC]

I think I am suffering from PTSD this morning. 

[RichiePhoto]

As with previous takeovers, it always turns out to be for the worst.

Two things I won’t tolerate is 

1/ AI being introduced in the software suite. It’s for lazy, uncreative people 

2/ The subscription model being introduced. I specifically went away from Adobe’s suite day 1, fearing and telling everyone that adobe will only increase prices. And it will go the same way with any subscription models, whether it’s software or peripheral e.g. HP printer ink. I for one will abandon going to subscription software. The updates that adobe offers, isn’t worth paying for anymore 

[KarinC]

1 minute ago, henryanthony said:

LOL! I still have Adobe CS2 on my XP machine! If worse comes to worse...

I have Illustrator CS6 and Flash MX on my Windows 7 machine. But, I believe I read when Adobe went on the subscription model that if you use an adobe product that is two versions older than the current version you can be charged with piracy. When I use Illustrator, I disconnect my computer from the internet.

[When_Subscription]

It's not so much about moving to a subscription for me if the software is deserving, it's more about WHO I would be giving money to. I hate Canva with a passion, they have no regard for the design professional and like most big companies are only in it for the money. So, if I'm faced with a decision of which evil to give my money to between Adobe and Canva, I'll just stick with the devil I know (Adobe), at least I know their software is up to snuff and their files are compatible almost anywhere.

[Johannes]

[Galen Young]

What dark and depressing news to start the day.

As one who *still* uses CS6 professionally, I added the Affinity line to my arsenal two and half years ago, and now confident with using it, just made my first purchase of an add-on last week, now this WTF "announcement" feels like a stab in the back, just like Adobe back in '13.

When Cinema 4D went sub only, I went all in on Blender and haven't looked back, and don't regret it. (still smarting from the loss of both Allegorithmic and Pixologic, both their "announcements" mirror this one.)

Looks like it's time to leverage my perpetual licensed version of Clip Studio Paint EX and finally go all in on Krita.

So thankful for my DaVinci Resolve and Fusion perpetual licenses. Too bad this "announcement" wasn't for Serif being acquired by Blackmagic Design (another Australian company), *that* would have really felt like a slap in the face to Adobe!

So the countdown to being locked behind a subscription only wall begins today, such sad, troubling and extremely aggravating news. Will continue to shout at the "cloud" -- "I am not a number, I am a free man!"

C'est la vie, RIP Affinity, you finally got your payday...

[TonyO]

I'm mixed on this. Canva was a surprising partner announcement, it's not the professional partner i would expect Affinity to connect with. I wouldn't associate Canva with professional software. BUT if it's simply Canva wanting to put it's name on professional software and dumping tons of money at the Affinity team with the hopes that Ash and the crew will still stay true to their values, that might be a good thing. I would love to see a few more advanced, hard to code tools come to the suite such as vector tracing and AI upscaling. 

As for the subtle hints that future versions wouldn't follow the old buy once forever philosophy, honestly i wouldn't mind paying for an Affinity subscription if it was fairly priced, this software has helped me make a whole side business of selling stock illustrations, and I've always thought it was a little under priced for the power it offers. 

I got my fingers crossed, but I'm keeping realistic expectations. 

[drkanukie]

Has anyone used Canva - I have its absysmal. The reason its so popular is because it's got huge library of templates, that let any marketing bod build a semi decent campaign. Otherwise it's really hard to use and imprecise. Compared to Figma it's hopeless, but that's another story.

I understand a trade sale makes everyone who founded the company relatively rich. I also think you probably deserve it, as building your own market is tough and customers are hard to please. But I see nothing but cynacism in this forum and quite rightly.

We have all been round this cycle with other companies and it all ends up the same way, good products go here to die. The only saving feature is that Canva is hopeless for graphic design so they will not be pulling a Macromedia on you immediately. It's going to be death by a thousand cuts (integrations). I only use Canva because I have to our marketing team love it but I would never by choice as its just hard work compared to anything else. 

The 'This is fine' fluff piece mentions synergy, I can sort of see that and having a few million £ for more for dev may help. For the cloud stuff you are never going to be a Figma but using Canva as a sort of graphics cloud drive might work. I've also thought why my studio presets can't be saved on my Affinity account. I think we would all love to be proved wrong.

[Bryan Rieger]

1 hour ago, Bit Disappointed said:

There's an obvious reason Canva is buying Serif and not Adobe; Canva is NOT supposed to compete with Adobe because they are targeting different types of customers with far, far, far less needs and a need for automation. In other words, today is the day you see the clearest sign of whom Serif has been making software for all these years.

Canva is not supposed to compete with Adobe, as a silly journalist wrote. They're meant to heavily dominate the market for light creatives - or people with immediate creative needs.

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.

[ktal]

I've only read the first half of the replies and it seems the trend is already there, and what I expected.

I saw the announcement email and immediately thought this is the Demise of Affinity. And like many others it seems, I'm in the camp of, "It was fun while it lasted"

I originally bought Affinity not because it was a better PROGRAMME than Adobe, but because it was a better COMPANY, and that was worth the sacrifice. But as Affinities products developed that sacrifice became even less. Like many others, I too have encourages my Adobe using friends to switch to Affinity.

But, the email I got this morning could've be copy/ pasted right from Pixologic. They too sold off and promised "everything you've come to know use for, but better more development and no subscription!! First thing they did was add a subscription and from what I've been able to see, there's been virtually no development. I even talked to some of the people there and was informed that ZBrush was the developers baby and he'd never let any thing about it change. And there went the bath water AND the baby.

Then there was Chaos with V-Ray suddenly going to subscription, "because it's better for the users."

I not longer use either of those products and I would happily use worse products, or products with fewer functions / features to not be screwed over by them (in fact I do).

The funny thing is, I actually hardly use Affinity products because I've got other projects on the go, but when I do use them I really appreciate them. And I appreciate the fact that I haven't had to pay every month for years for the 2x a year I might use them. Despite this, I've been happy to pay for the upgrade because 1) It's affordable but 2) it supported a good company.

And at one point my path was taking me down particular avenue that previously was possible. But, with all the changes in software going to subscriptions, it's no longer possible. In general it seems less and less likely that an independent artist can actually run a viable business these days simply because the tools they need to use have become unaffordable and development is ceasing in favour of bleeding like leaches. We all know that if you're trying to be a professional in the industry you'll be using multiple pieces of software, and as they all go to subscription the nickle-and-dime techniques make it impossible to be financially viable as a business. But worse, this same technique prevents up an coming artists from being able to afford to even start thus making the whole industry shrink, and so too does it eliminate the hobbyists (which eliminates income to the software business, people like me are cash cows... well, were).

Like many others, this announcement leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. The words of Ashley Hewson don't provide me with any sense of trust, and the over-blown optimism is foreboding. I honestly think I can understand what it's like to be the beloved dog or cat of a family who's suddenly being take to the vet to be put down. I know I seem to be focusing only on the subscription risk, but there are really only two issues that will change, purchasing and development. But they both end up going hand-in-hand in these cases, I probably don't need to say that the development too will stop.

If, though, for some reason I am completely wrong, and Affinity keeps working as they have, or dare I say improves, I will be the first to put my hands up and apologise for my assumptions and state how wrong I was. Don't hold your breath though. I think we've all seen the writing on the wall too many times with too many companies.

Ashley, enjoy your retirement. Staff of Affinity, good luck in your job search. Fellow users, best of luck in your artistic endeavours and do share alternatives. I'm happy to go back to slate and chalk or crayons... it seems that's now the only way to not get screwed over by businesses.

RIP Affinity

[Juc1]

I don't like the subscription model (and moved from Adobe to Affinity) but for me it is not fatal, depending on the price. If Canva want to compete with Adobe I hope their deep pockets will fund the development of something like Adobe Photoshop's generative fill which is I think rightly described as a "game changer" in another thread. In other words I think Affinity needs to keep up with AI developments or be left behind by competitors. I know there are pro and anti AI views, but for me AI is a reality whether we like it or not, and when I see Photoshop's generative fill, I am pro AI.

[HydroJLW]

3 hours ago, Ash said:

There are genuinely no plans for us to remove the availability of our apps to purchase as a perpetual licence. I will say it is possible in the future there may be an optional way to have them via a Canva subscription plan (which could also include other integrations with Canva / cloud services which you would not get with the perpetual version). But it’s very early days and there isn't a firm plan on that.

I honestly think you'll all be pleased with the outcome of this. With the additional financial backing we have no pressure at all to release a V3 anytime soon, so can be 100% focused on ploughing all our efforts into free V2 updates for the foreseeable future - and we've got some great updates in the works. 

Realise this announcement has come as a surprise and I understand the feeling of uncertainty which is brings, but I do think it's all very positive for the company and our customers. 

Really hope this is actually the case, and not yet another cannibalisation of a great suite of software as we have seen so many times in the past.
My personal design journey has been 100% with the Affinity apps, as I didn't want to go down the Adobe subscription route. As I am still in the relatively early days of this, it would be really sad to see the platform I have learned on thus far, go down.

That said, I know that large corporations tend to swallow up competitors too, so if this means Affinity continues to exist in the world, then that is a good thing. But please never budge on the no-subscription model...that is why we are here!!
Please safeguard the things that has made Affinity great so far.

All the best.

 

[Bryce]

As a small business owner I understand the need to made money. I hope that Serif had always been making money.

I've been with Serif since 1992 - when I was still in high school - It was my alternative to Pagemaker. It was not Aldus or Adobe. It was a deliberate choice - and I loved having that big thick paper manual of PagePlus 2.0 I've supported it ever since. Along the way PagePlus lost it's way and became just small updates each time but then Affinity came along and WOW! Serif was back with a new vision - one that included Macs, which was desperately needed if Serif would ever became a real alternative to Adobe in the graphic arts world.

During this time, and still, I have a subscription to Adobe, but really only use it impositions of files made in Affinity.

I've always been the supporter of the "little guy". The alternative to Adobe that basically took over all of graphic design. Then when Adobe decided they weren't making enough money and took out Pantone, it confirmed Serif was doing the right thing. It was about principled software by designers for designers. It's the basic fact that smaller companies have to listen to their customers. Larger companies listen to their blackrock and vanguard shareholders.

With the acquisition by Canva we users are all concerned that our investment in Serif may no longer support the development of good software.

Please always keep in mind what got Serif where it is today.

 

[Colin Red]

WHAT A MAYOR DISSAPOINTMENT, THIS IS A HUGE MISTAKE, THIS IS THE END OF AFFINITY AND THE END OF MY SUPPORT FOR YOUR COMPANY . . . BEEN WITH YOU FROM DAY ONE PURCHASED ALL YOUR APPS AND BOOKS AND NOW THIS . . . SHAME ON YOU ASH !!!!!

[Danielcz]

It will take about 2-3 years for subscription transfer to happen, at that time GIMP will have non-destructive editing too.
(after many years of huge rewrite, long awaited 3.0 is almost ready).

For me personally i didnt have anything interesting out of V2 either, whole V2 feels to me like "maintenance mode" with big jumps in versioning.
Many of the most wanted stuff are still rotting in archived "Feedback for the Affinity V1 Products" forum section with no sight of implementation.

but im also bit spoiled with fast development of Blender where i can read daily commits, roadmaps, devs meetings etc...

[ADRs]

1 hour ago, Boldlinedesign said:

Vectorstyler is a terrific vector editing application

maybe it's a sign...

[gewb]

4 hours ago, Ducky3961 said:

I just got the email and it's a bomb. Great news for you guys but incredibly bad news for me. I just started migrating off Corel, now i might have to stop and get back to that...

Except Corel sold out to Alludo which buys companies, rapes them, then leaves them to die.

[Boldlinedesign]

5 minutes ago, ADRs said:

maybe it's a sign...

 

They just recently released their big 1.2 update with a ton of stability updates and new features. It's half off for that release. No SaaS. I use it as my main vector editing program daily. 

[Bevc]

First reaction? I (me myself and I) am definitely not feeling thrilled– nor particularly appreciated.

Second reaction: "no plan now" means, "wait for the subscription announcement later."

 

 

[Gerrym]

Three words, Xara and Magix....

[loukash]

An astounding prophecy has been made in this post: 

And one half of it has now become reality.

 

[Ginblue]

Not sure I would be pushing that YouTube video, doesn't exactly inspire confidence.