I’ve used Affinity since the beginning, and it’s still the software I choose for most of my brand design work.
For a small studio, the appeal has always been simple. I want professional tools that are fast, precise and stay out of the way. I don’t need a huge software ecosystem for the sake of it, and I don’t want my tools dictating how I work. The latest version of Affinity makes the decision even easier.
One app for the work I actually do
The biggest change is that Affinity is now a single app, bringing vector design, photo editing and page layout together instead of splitting them across separate programs.
That suits brand identity work. A typical project covers everything from drawing and refining a logo to setting typography, preparing imagery, building layouts and producing assets for print and digital. Having all of that in one place means less jumping between applications and more time on the work itself.
It has also kept what I liked in the first place. It’s responsive, precise and built around professional design rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
The Canva connection is useful for clients
The change that interests me more from a client’s point of view is the link between Affinity and Canva.
It’s worth being clear that Canva isn’t replacing the design work. It gives a business an easier way to use the brand once that work is done.
When I create an identity, I’m not only thinking about how it looks in the presentation. I’m thinking about what happens afterwards. Someone in the business will need to make a social post. Someone else will need to update a presentation. A member of the team will need a simple document and won’t want to go back to a designer every time.
That’s where Canva can help. The latest integration makes it easier to take professionally made brand assets into a tool clients already know, and Canva’s new Brand System lets designers build brand elements in Affinity and connect them to a Canva Brand Kit. For me that’s a practical step, because it narrows the gap between creating a brand and actually using it.
Good branding shouldn’t depend on expensive software
This is the part I find most interesting.
A brand shouldn’t become hard to maintain just because the person using it isn’t a designer. If I’ve created an identity for a business, I want them to be able to use it properly once the project is over. It shouldn’t look great in the presentation and then fall apart the first time someone needs a social graphic. So I treat accessibility and ease of use as part of the identity itself.
Affinity being free changes the conversation about access to professional tools too. Canva says the all-new Affinity is now free for everyone, while paid Canva plans add access to Canva’s AI features inside Affinity. For designers, that removes one barrier to using professional software. For businesses, it can make handover and everyday use of brand assets much simpler.
Affinity isn’t the reason the work is good
One thing needs saying, though. Changing software doesn’t make anyone a better designer.
The quality of an identity comes from understanding the business, making good decisions and knowing how those decisions need to work across different applications and touchpoints. You can make a poor identity in expensive software just as easily as a good one in affordable software. The tools matter, but they come second.
For me, Affinity gives the right balance of capability, speed and flexibility without adding complexity to the process. That’s why I’m sticking with it. And as the connection with Canva develops, it becomes even more useful to the way I work: professional design on one side, practical brand use on the other.
If you’d like an identity that works well beyond the first presentation, get in touch.
