LostInTranslation Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Dear Developers, the more I work with Affinity Designer, Photo and Publisher, the more I like them. There is a bit of a learning curve coming from other programs, but it seems worth the effort. However, I am not completely happy with two things in particular. Those are the main reasons why I don't use AD exclusively by now. Before I bought Affinity Designer, I was working with Xara Designer for many years. Recently, I made myself use AD more, but when I need something done fast and intuitively, I still go back to Xara. And here is why: a) Vector drawing I do a lot of Vector drawing for logodesign and illustration. While AD has some superior tools - just the corner rounding tool alone is worth the purchase - it lacks basic usability compared to Xara, at least for me. Affinity Designer: Lay out nodes: Pen tool Bend curves: Switch to Node tool More nodes: Switch back to Pen tool Adjust curves: Switch to Node tool Reposition node: Switch back to Pen tool Xara Designer: Lay out nodes: Shape tool Bend curves: Still Shape tool More nodes: Still Shape tool Adjust curves: Still Shape tool Reposition node: Still Shape tool This makes working way faster and I really don't see why AD would need two tools for that. b) Applying Colors Honestly, I hate the way applying colors works in AD. Fiddling around switching fill- and line colors to apply them just does not work for me. In Xara left-clicking on a swatch changes fill color, right-clicking on a swatch changes line color. I can recolor multiple objects with different colors in a matter of seconds this way. AD feels way more complicated and tiresome. This is my subjective view and of course I am biased from using other software for so long. But I feel adopting those things would benefit AD greatly. If only as alternative options, so people who like the current way would not be affected. Please think about it, Cheers o5m6, CLC, Frozen Death Knight and 6 others 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriel_komorov Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 3 hours ago, LostInTranslation said: In Xara left-clicking on a swatch changes fill color, right-clicking on a swatch changes line color. I can recolor multiple objects with different colors in a matter of seconds this way. AD feels way more complicated and tiresome. Also it's same way as in Corel. And of course it's waaay more logical, quick and intuitive than Affinity's approach. Yes, I praise Corel for a lot of things, however it lacks in some areas, so there's your chance Serif There's nothing wrong with being "isnpired" by good and established solutions LostInTranslation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff MEB Posted August 2, 2019 Staff Share Posted August 2, 2019 Corel just picked this (and a few other things) from Xara. There was a time when Xara was sold by Corel as Corel Xara (1995-2000). Later Xara assumed the control of the app again. Thanks for your feedback/support. Mark Ingram 1 Quote A Guide to Learning Affinity Software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEC Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 6 hours ago, LostInTranslation said: a) Vector drawing I do a lot of Vector drawing for logodesign and illustration. While AD has some superior tools - just the corner rounding tool alone is worth the purchase - it lacks basic usability compared to Xara, at least for me. Affinity Designer: Lay out nodes: Pen tool Bend curves: Switch to Node tool More nodes: Switch back to Pen tool Adjust curves: Switch to Node tool Reposition node: Switch back to Pen tool Xara Designer: Lay out nodes: Shape tool Bend curves: Still Shape tool More nodes: Still Shape tool Adjust curves: Still Shape tool Reposition node: Still Shape tool This makes working way faster and I really don't see why AD would need two tools for that. b) Applying Colors Honestly, I hate the way applying colors works in AD. Fiddling around switching fill- and line colors to apply them just does not work for me. In Xara left-clicking on a swatch changes fill color, right-clicking on a swatch changes line color. I can recolor multiple objects with different colors in a matter of seconds this way. Although it's different in Affinity, I don't really see that these are major problems, or that they take any longer. a) If you want to switch to the Node Tool from the Pen Tool just hold down the Ctrl key. b) Click on a colour, hit "x", it swaps the fill and stroke swatches, click for the other colour. Quote Acer XC-895 : Core i5-10400 Hexa-core 2.90 GHz : 32GB RAM : Intel UHD Graphics 630 : Windows 10 Home Affinity Publisher 2 : Affinity Photo 2 : Affinity Designer 2 : (latest release versions) on desktop and iPad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 27 minutes ago, PaulEC said: ...b) Click on a colour, hit "x", it swaps the fill and stroke swatches, click for the other colour. Which take far longer over the course of a day, week, month, year. That time adds up. Really, of the things that are hold-overs from the Plus line (and Illy), this was not one of them to choose. LostInTranslation 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuttyjoe Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 9 minutes ago, MikeW said: Which take far longer over the course of a day, week, month, year. That time adds up. Really, of the things that are hold-overs from the Plus line (and Illy), this was not one of them to choose. For me, they both take the same amount of time. If you're using keyboard shortcuts all the time, then your free hand is always at the ready. Pressing the X on the keyboard to switch fill/Stroke takes no time, unless you're having to look down at the keyboard over and over to find the X key and press it. That's not the case for me. My free hand is always in position so I can do it instantly. This one is not an issue for me. Either way is good. PaulEC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEC Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 13 minutes ago, MikeW said: Which take far longer over the course of a day, week, month, year. That time adds up. Well, it's a matter of opinion, but as right clicking is used for other functions in the swatches tab, I'm not sure how much it would complicate things to use it for selecting colours instead. I appreciate that hitting a key may take fractionally longer than right clicking, but, in the real world the extra time it takes is way less than stopping to take a swig of your coffee once a day! It's the same argument as someone who was complaining recently about having to double click rather than single click something because it took so much longer, or the one complaining about having to hit a key at the top of the keyboard instead of the bottom! In reality there's nothing in it. There are much more important things for the devs to worry about before this sort of thing. Quote Acer XC-895 : Core i5-10400 Hexa-core 2.90 GHz : 32GB RAM : Intel UHD Graphics 630 : Windows 10 Home Affinity Publisher 2 : Affinity Photo 2 : Affinity Designer 2 : (latest release versions) on desktop and iPad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 1 minute ago, PaulEC said: ...There are much more important things for the devs to worry about before this sort of thing. I agree there are bigger fish to fry, and at the end of the day, it is like it is. That it is like it is statement applies to a lot of things across all three applications. Some of which make a far larger difference for productivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jowday Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 This is not something devs should worry about. This is something an educated, professional user experience designer should worry about. Quote "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface." Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else. “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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