Canva

[brentpruitt]

[source: https://twitter.com/affinitybyserif/status/1570728566350020608]

 

[VectorVonDoom]

1 hour ago, Boldlinedesign said:

When was the last time you used Vectorstyler? They just released last week a giant update to version 1.2 with a lot of stability fixes and improvements. There are some bugs but I use the program day in and day out each day and rarely have major issues

End of Dec or early Jan, so I don't suppose it's massively better now.

[MarvinR]

While I personally was sad to hear this news I can understand these things do happen. I thank you for the past 10 years of using your products and giving me a chance to do things that I could not have otherwise afforded to learn and use.  I congratulate you on all you have accomplished. I hope what comes next respects the policies and plans you have established for the Affinity line. 

Peace

Marvin

[Mithferion]

14 minutes ago, Ash said:

Yes I do! Realise there seems to be a distinct lack of faith flying around here, but we'll be revealing more about our plans in the coming days and yes I'm sure you will all be pleased with what we have to say.

I'll let you know if that sounds good to me.

How it turns out in the end will be another converation.

Best regards!

[Mithferion]

18 minutes ago, Boldlinedesign said:

It takes some time to learn and use any professional program. 

Ah, yes, and I've used professional Software that I liked at the first try.

Best regards!

[Boldlinedesign]

3 minutes ago, VectorVonDoom said:

End of Dec or early Jan, so I don't suppose it's massively better now.

The massive update just came out of beta officially a couple weeks ago. Sounds like you were using the older version. Might be better to try the updated program and not rely on experiences with the older version when assessing the program. Really impressive update a year in the making

[Teddy Ursadorable]

I'm less concerned about a possible subscription model, and more concerned about Canva's nonchalant attitude toward customer's personal information.

They've proven they can't be trusted with customer data, and I refuse to allow them to have mine.

Either way, I'm waiting to hear back from Serif on if my data is or will be shared with Canva, and I've explicitly indicated that my data NOT to be shared with Canva.

[gguillotte]

AI-generated content is explicitly prohibited in my field. Using it, even unintentionally, is prohibited by storefronts' legal contracts and user agreements, and can and has caused creators and products to be banned from their marketplaces. Generative AI usage in this field is heavily policed both by companies and other creatives.

Any features using generative AI added to Affinity products make those products more dangerous to use; they are anti-features that reduce the software's value at any price. And any integrations between Affinity products and Canva, which is now reliant on generative AI tools for a significant portion of its revenue and uses creators' works to train its models, are consequently also anti-features.

This acquisition demonstrably hurts users, regardless of when or if there are any changes to licensing, subscriptions, releases, development, or support. There are no letters of explanation or planning roadmaps that will change this. It took immediate and arguably irrevocable effect the moment the acquisition was announced.

If Serif wanted investment to expand or grow its offerings or secure its future, Canva could have invested in and partnered with Serif—which as has been noted was already profitable—without acquiring a controlling stake. The only reason to agree to this unsolicited acquisition offer is the co-founders' greed; two people get two-thirds of the benefit and the other 90 split the rest.

[jmwellborn]

9 minutes ago, Ash said:

Yes I do! Realise there seems to be a distinct lack of faith flying around here, but we'll be revealing more about our plans in the coming days and yes I'm sure you will all be pleased with what we have to say.

From the day I first discovered Affinity, I have been overwhelmed by the old-fashioned courtesy, dedication, and professionalism of the entire organization. Even when tempted by some occasional unpleasantness from the outside, honor and decency have always prevailed. It was a shock to read of this acquisition/merger today, but I for one, am going to trust Ash and his wonderful team.  They have not failed us yet, and I don’t think they will going forward.  Affinity is their creation — they surely don’t want to spoil it!   Hopefully Affinity will blossom while keeping its tradition for excellence.  Steve Jobs started Apple.  Apple has added laptops, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, etc. without spoiling its brand either.

I wish everyone at Serif/Affinity the very best going forward and thank you for what I am sure will be many more years of happiness using the Affinity Suite. 

[Archangel]

Well, this could be good news.

Congratulations on obtaining the investment in Serif that Canva will provide. I hope Serif will continue to provide affordable professional quality software that is accessible to all. May Serif go from strength to strength and Affinity blossom into the fully amazing software that it will no doubt be.

I hope the pricing model will stay the same i.e. purchase and own your copy of the software and not rent it.

Good luck for the future.

[Chills]

7 hours ago, Ash said:

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)

At the moment we have integrations from Affinity to Pixababy and Pexel which are now Canva. Does it mean we will lose these on the perpetual versions? 

So the perpetual version will be the "lesser" version with fewer features?  Adobe said much the same about the last perpetual Lightroom V6 being supported alongside the CC version, and then pulled all support about a month before Google changed the Maps interface....   Stopped at Adobe CS6 and went with Affinity V1.

I have a magazine set up using Publisher. I need to be able to plan long term. 

[Gary9450]

"The writing is on the wall" as they say. I used to use Ulead's Photo Impact Pro. Eventually, it was sold to Corel Corp., who cannibalized it and got rid of it. Now, even Corel is owned by a different corporation. Subscription services like Adobe's is a rip-off, and once Affinity apps become that, I will find a replacement.

Serif's announcement & FAQs are Extremely carefully worded, but much of the truth can still be deciphered because most of us users are accustomed to the smart phrases they used, and will continue to use. I hope they prove me wrong, but in the long run, I doubt it. Canva cannot be compared to Serif's quality (just look at the Canva examples online). I enjoyed the idea of Affinity being real competition for Adobe, but that pleasure will be totally gone once Canva starts pressuring the Affinity division. Affinity apps will become Canva apps in time. You'll see ... we'll All see.

[Belmont]

Wow, so many assumptions, accusations and defections and the announcement isn't even 24 hours old! I know these things don't usually go well, some of my favorite programs got swallowed up never to be heard of again (even hardware, may Ensoniq rest in peace  ) which was a real bummer, but take a deep breath and give it a chance to play out.

V2 still works and does what it did yesterday before the announcement. It's still a good program. It could use some updates and meaningful bug fixes for sure, but nothing has changed since a week ago. We got exactly what we bought. I didn't buy V2 for what V3 might be, I bought it for the features in V2, and that is what I have and will always have. Maybe it will go subscription in the future, maybe it won't, we don't know. Enjoy what you have now, and move on to something else in the future if the situation changes. Complaining, insulting, insinuating, and condemning now isn't going to change anything, the deal is done.

And if they made a bunch of money in the deal, good for them! I have a nice piece of non-Adobe software for a relatively inexpensive price, and they can take a nice vacation with their family and maybe pay down their mortgage a little. A win win. Making a profit is kinda the point of making and selling products after all.

Now about fixing those bugs....how 'bout it guys....  

[Thomas Bohn]

23 minutes ago, Ash said:

Yes I do! Realise there seems to be a distinct lack of faith flying around here, but we'll be revealing more about our plans in the coming days and yes I'm sure you will all be pleased with what we have to say.

It would have been easier if you had started with those plans. At the moment there is no faith at all. We have seen it a million times, a company acquires another company and everything good about the acquired company will be gone. Broadcom is essentially butchering VMware, the team of Filmic Pro was let go, when the new parent had their own team in place. And now we have a VC funded company aiming for an IPO and I fear that Serif is just nice window item for that and when the IPO is done. Serif as it is now, will be gone. So, I don't where I should take faith, where?

[Kristi H]

I bought these programs specifically because they are a one-time purchase and not subscription-based.  And saying "there are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time" doesn't build any trust that you're not going to move it to a subscription-model in the future. If Affinity moves to a subscription model you'll be as dead to me as Adobe.

[dominik]

7 minutes ago, jmwellborn said:

From the day I first discovered Affinity, I have been overwhelmed by the old-fashioned courtesy, dedication, and professionalism of the entire organization. Even when tempted by some occasional unpleasantness from the outside, honor and decency have always prevailed. It was a shock to read of this acquisition/merger today, but I for one, am going to trust Ash and his wonderful team.  They have not failed us yet, and I don’t think they will going forward.  Affinity is their creation — they surely don’t want to spoil it!   Hopefully Affinity will blossom while keeping its tradition for excellence.  Steve Jobs started Apple.  Apple has added laptops, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, etc. without spoiling its brand either.

I wish everyone at Serif/Affinity the very best going forward and thank you for what I am sure will be many more years of happiness using the Affinity Suite. 

I do support wholeheartedly your words. Thanks.

d.

[loukash]

1 minute ago, Belmont said:

some of my favorite programs got swallowed up never to be heard of again (even hardware, may Ensoniq rest in peace  ) which was a real bummer, but take a deep breath and give it a chance to play out.

Agreed.

In another "concurrent" forum thread I also mentioned two positive examples from the music business:
Apple acquiring Emagic (Logic Pro), and Yamaha acquiring Line 6 (Pod and Helix amp/effect modelers). Those products only got better over the years.
Caveat: From what I've seen and read so far though, Canva apparently doesn't have the professionals' credibility that Apple or Yamaha have.

[wVanDyck]

Over years, the Affinity team has established a stellar track record of continuously advancing AD, AP, and APub. The applications, the books, and tutorials have been top notch!

Years ago, I started with Deneba Canvas which became an integral component of my thought process. Then, on short notice, development ceased! It was troubling and traumatic, but that lead to purchasing the Adobe Creative Suite 3 (ACS3). A learning curve aside, the transition to the Adobe suite was an exciting time and supercharged my creative endeavors. Then came the subcription model...

In 2014, I purchased AD and began a new journey, embracing AP, and later Publisher. I snatched the V2 Universal license and add-ons without hesitation. There was peace of mind and optimism along the way...

I have functioning older computers systems that still run Canvas and the various versions of CS. At the moment there will be at least two systems that will run Affinity V2 into the future. But even in moments of mindfulness, it's hard to ignore real rumblings of concern...

Best wishes to all. Fingers of both hands crossed that this new situation goes well.

[egehlin]

Greetings Affinity Team,

Just want to say that the second the Affinity Apps become subscription based or institute a "tiered" model where a "basic" version is offered at one price & "pro" version offered at a higher price, I will look elsewhere for my graphics solutions. I've been with Affinity since v01 but you're not the only game in town. There are some mighty attractive free and low-cost programs out there that haven't moved to "tiered" or subscription models.

The merger with Canva leaves me feeling uneasy at best...

[debraspicher]

1 hour ago, debraspicher said:

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.

...

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.

53 minutes ago, Ash said:

Yes I do! Realise there seems to be a distinct lack of faith flying around here, but we'll be revealing more about our plans in the coming days and yes I'm sure you will all be pleased with what we have to say.

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

[Tommy Turtle]

Let’s be positive, I am reassured by Ash’s words. I know none of us can tell what the future brings but the positives are a faster rate of development. It would be nice to have those things we’ve all wanted for years, like pathtrace and other transformations and effects. 
 

 

[mogsie]

I am happily using Affinity, having finally moved from my old Adobe programs. I was managing to use Adobe CS4 for many many years by keeping old computers running systems that would run it. Now I suppose I'll have to do the same with Affinity – keep old computers after Affinity moves to a subscription model and version 2.4 won't run on new computers any more. I will try to make it last as long as I do. But I am concerned for my grandson, who is intending to use the Affinity programs I gifted him to write his dissertation.

I have seen this before with many programs. The earliest I remember was Superpaint, which Adobe bought and killed.

 

[Shemja]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Old Bruce]

@wVanDyck,

Wow, your experience is very very close to mine. For computer use I started with Aldus Pagemaker on a Mac+ then went to Ventura Publisher before Deneba Canvas back on Mac. That is excluding the Letter Press work followed by phototypesetting using Compugraphic equipment with its 6 bit instructions and data code punched into paper tape.

Seeing as I am here I will wish all of the Affinity team best wishes going forward. I am optimistic. But I would be remiss to not mention that I will bail on any subscription model.

[UweN]

Hello,
I don't know what the future holds for me as a "hobby user". Adobe CS6 was the last version for me - never subscription! But I couldn't quite let go. There are many years in photo diaries since 2006, created with Indesign up to CS6, which I still have to use today as the last Adobe application. Why? Because the Publisher does not import the many keywords in the IDML file and, since the book function has been available, the page numbering of the book does not include the chapters. I was hoping until today that this would be included in the next version so that I could put Indesign CS6 to sleep. As it stands, just a guess, that was a misjudgement. I would therefore be interested to know what the concrete release planning looks like, which Affinity has not yet provided. So, which functions and when and with which price model? If there's nothing positive in the sky, then I might as well stop using Affinity and painfully switch back to Adobe.
Greetings, Uwe