I'd love to hear your (developers and development companies) thoughts on buggy applications.

[NoranDivo]

I've used a lot of different applications, but I've never seen an application that is so difficult to use and so full of bugs. I'll skip the endless list of all the malfunctions and incomprehensible points, but since I bought it with my own money, I will basically continue to use it, and I intend to do so. However, I'm reaching my limit.

I have one question. Affinity photo, designer, and as an extra, who was publisher made and released for? Is it to squeeze money out of amateurs? If so, that makes sense, but if not, please explain clearly. Is it for amateurs or professionals? With a UI that makes you click too many times, poor customization capabilities, and a UX that doesn't seem to take the user into consideration, it's hard to imagine that this is an application for professionals, let alone amateurs. Also, the number of bugs is unbearable. Are they planning to fix it? Oops, I said one, but I asked another question. Excuse me.

If it's for amateurs, there's nothing more to say. However, I think I read somewhere that competition only begins in the true sense when there is something that threatens Adobe. I don't think you guys can become a threat to Adobe. You're being arrogant. First of all, do something about the applications I mentioned earlier that are of such low quality. If you can't do something about it, then either quit development or quit because it's a hassle to deal with professionals. I don't want to see people getting disappointed with the hope that they might switch from Adobe products.
It would be great to get answers like this from the developers themselves, but I'd like to know the thoughts of those around them, or those who actually use them. Are you satisfied??

[fde101]

6 hours ago, NoranDivo said:

competition only begins in the true sense when there is something that threatens Adobe

Adobe basically killed itself as far as I am concerned when they went to a subscription-only model.  If they ever hope to compete for me as a customer (as I used to be) they need to go back to offering perpetual licenses, or they may as well not exist.

Consequently Serif doesn't need to worry about competing with Adobe for me.  They need to compete with themselves (to offer a worthwhile product) and with others offering perpetual licensing.

[Bryan Rieger]

3 minutes ago, fde101 said:

Consequently Serif … need to compete with themselves (to offer a worthwhile product) and with others offering perpetual licensing.

Since the Canva acquisition it feels like they've even stopped trying to compete with themselves.

[Meliora spero]

7 hours ago, NoranDivo said:

Affinity photo, designer, and as an extra, who was publisher made and released for? Is it to squeeze money out of amateurs?

It's time for people to start talking less about Adobe, as in not at all, drop the constant bitterness over subscriptions, which is everywhere now and has become the new normal, and start focusing on customer needs. Understand the needs of others. Understand the needs of professionals.

Serif has made software for amateurs and tiny companies and maybe small associations since 1987, and they have never, ever, ever targeted or captured the professional market. That's why it's pure wishful thinking and illusion that Canva could elevate the level to professional, as it would require much broader products and significant expansions, along with professional support setup. Affinity simply isn't built for the professional market, and the algorithms and deficiencies are nowhere near that level.

That's why you had this experience: "I've used a lot of different applications, but I've never seen an application that is so difficult to use and so full of bugs. I'll skip the endless list of all the malfunctions and incomprehensible points." Think logically. If a company that started in 1987 making graphic software and even started fresh from scratch still can't hit the mark, do you really think it will happen, ever? What you're seeing and bought is the best they could come up with after so many years in the industry.

My guess is that Canva is trying to target a market slightly above the non-designers who use Canva, repeating the claim that Affinity is for professionals. They're expanding their customer segment. But Affinity isn't what professionals demand, use, or choose, and the market has spoken. You won't find Affinity in professional environments.

Keep an eye on what Canva does with Affinity. They're not going to give you insight into their plans here – that's not how corporate communication works.

[Meliora spero]

1 hour ago, Bryan Rieger said:

Since the Canva acquisition it feels like they've even stopped trying to compete with themselves.

It unfortunately reminds me a bit of the provinces, where I've seen many towns try to reshuffle the deck differently, attempting to let the same people without good ideas or competencies create an alternative to the clearly better things developed in other cities. It's a long stagnation with changing lighting. I sense the same thing happening with Serif, but it's too early to say.

[NoranDivo]

>Meliora spero
Your story has given me a good understanding of the position of Affinity's products. You said it was a guess, but I think it's correct that they want to target non-professionals and "people who are not yet high amateurs". The reason why it's probably complicated is that they used Adobe, which is at the top of the industry. Anyone who has used an Adobe product even once can understand that Affinity is no match for Adobe in terms of scale and usability. The most evil, most misguided, and most foolish advertising slogan is like an ant challenging an elephant and boasting that it "may win". They should have simply said, "We target non-professionals and people who are not yet high amateurs". If they had done that, there would not have been an influx of professionals who were thinking of leaving Adobe.
In fact, the three products mentioned above have many bugs in terms of functionality and performance, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they are defective. I realized that after using them. After all, it's "performance that matches the price". That's why I stopped saying anything about Canva or Affinity. I think it's best to quietly withdraw as soon as an alternative is found. In the meantime, I'll just put up with it and keep using it. It would be foolish to waste money on complaining.

Edited January 19 by NoranDivo