Affinity Designer: Vector Design Without Subscriptions

Affinity Designer is a professional vector graphics app from Serif that directly challenges Adobe Illustrator without requiring a subscription. It covers logo design, illustration, print graphics, and UI assets with a modern interface and robust vector tools. The main appeal: you pay once and own it forever. Affinity Designer gained traction among freelancers, indie designers, and anyone tired of Creative Cloud’s monthly fees.

Key Specs

How Designers Use Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer adapts to different vector design workflows. Here’s where designers apply it to common projects.

For Logo and Brand Identity Design

The pen tool, geometric shapes, and boolean operations (Add, Subtract, Intersect) create custom vector logos that scale infinitely. Affinity’s Symbols feature lets you create reusable brand elements that update globally across artboards. Export logos as SVG for web, EPS for print, or PDF for client presentations. The Constraints feature (similar to Figma’s) makes responsive logos that adapt to different aspect ratios.

For Vector Illustration and Artwork

Switch between Designer Persona (vector mode) and Pixel Persona (raster mode) without leaving the app. Use vector brushes for stylized line work, gradient mesh for photorealistic shading, or blend modes for layered color effects. The Isometric Grid tool helps with technical and isometric illustrations. Affinity’s vector warp tools bend and distort shapes while keeping them editable, perfect for custom lettering or organic forms.

For Print Design and Layout

Affinity Designer handles CMYK, Pantone spot colors, and ICC color profiles for professional printing. Export print-ready PDFs with bleeds, crop marks, and embedded fonts. The Artboard system organizes multiple page layouts (business cards, letterheads, posters) in one file. While Affinity Publisher handles multi-page documents better, Designer works for single-sheet print projects.

For UI Icons and Digital Assets

Design pixel-perfect icons with vector precision, then export at multiple resolutions (1x, 2x, 3x) using the Export Persona. Create artboards for each icon size, apply constraints, and batch-export. While Figma dominates UI design workflows, Affinity Designer excels at crafting custom icons and illustrations that import to Figma, Sketch, or web projects as SVG.

Affinity Designer vs. Alternatives

How does Affinity Designer compare to other vector design tools?

Choose Affinity Designer if: You want professional vector tools without subscriptions, work independently or in small teams, or need cross-platform compatibility (Mac/Windows/iPad).

Choose Illustrator if: You work in agencies requiring Adobe files, need the absolute deepest toolset, or already pay for Creative Cloud.

Choose Sketch if: You’re a Mac-only UI/UX designer who values native performance and design systems over print graphics.

Choose Figma if: You’re designing UI/UX for digital products with real-time collaboration as a priority.

Choose Inkscape if: You need free, open-source vector editing and work primarily with SVG for web projects.

Getting Started with Affinity Designer

A 20-minute quick start to understand Affinity’s core workflow:

Step 1: Understand the Personas

Affinity Designer has three modes (Personas) you switch between via icons in the top left. Designer Persona (vector tools) is your default. Pixel Persona lets you do raster edits (like Photoshop) on the same canvas. Export Persona handles batch asset export. This multi-mode approach means you rarely need to leave the app. Start in Designer Persona and explore the others once you’re comfortable with vectors.

Step 2: Master the pen and node tools

Press P for the pen tool. Click to create straight lines, click-drag for curves. Hold Alt (Option) to break curve handles and create corners. Press A for the Node Tool to adjust anchor points after drawing. Affinity’s pen tool behaves like Illustrator’s, so skills transfer. Practice tracing simple shapes (a mug, a leaf) to build muscle memory with bezier curves.

Step 3: Use boolean operations to build complex shapes

Draw overlapping shapes with the rectangle (M) and ellipse (O) tools. Select multiple shapes, then use the toolbar buttons for Add, Subtract, Intersect, or Divide. These operations combine geometry without destructive edits. Right-click on the operations to choose “Create Compound Shape” (non-destructive, stays editable) or “Apply Operation” (permanent). Most logo designers stay in compound mode for flexibility.

Affinity Designer in Your Design Workflow

Affinity Designer integrates with other tools through standard file formats and cross-app workflows.

• Before Designer: Sketching on paper or Procreate, gathering references in Pinterest or Pure Ref, creating mood boards
• During design: Affinity Designer for vector work, switching to Affinity Photo for textures, Affinity Publisher for multi-page layouts
• After Designer: Export SVG for web developers, PDF for clients and printers, PNG for presentations, or AI/EPS for Adobe compatibility

Common tool pairings:

• Affinity Designer + Affinity Photo for combining vector graphics with raster textures and photo manipulation
• Affinity Designer + Affinity Publisher for creating graphics that flow into brochures, magazines, or books
• Affinity Designer + Figma for illustrating custom icons/artwork, then importing SVG to Figma for UI implementation
• Affinity Designer + Procreate for rough iPad sketches refined as vectors in Designer
• Affinity Designer + Canva for creating reusable brand assets (logos, icons) that template designers use in Canva

Common Problems (and How to Fix Them)

These issues come up regularly in Affinity Designer communities. Here’s how to solve them.

“I can’t open this AI file properly”

Affinity Designer imports most Illustrator files (AI, EPS) but struggles with specific Adobe effects like Envelope Distort, certain brushes, or advanced blends. When importing, check for flattened layers or missing effects. Workaround: ask for SVG or PDF exports from Illustrator users, which preserve more fidelity. Or open in Illustrator, expand appearances (Object > Expand), and re-export.

“Affinity’s typography tools feel limited”

Affinity Designer handles kerning, tracking, and baseline shift but lacks Illustrator’s advanced typographic controls (Touch Type tool, automatic optical kerning across entire documents). For complex type treatments, design the basic layout in Affinity, then finalize in a dedicated type tool or manually adjust. For most logo and brand work, Affinity’s type tools suffice.

“I miss Illustrator’s libraries and plugins”

Affinity Designer doesn’t have Illustrator’s massive plugin ecosystem. No Astute Graphics tools, limited scripting (macros only, no ExtendScript). However, Affinity Assets panel stores reusable symbols, styles, and color palettes. Create your own libraries by saving .afdesign files as symbol sources. The trade-off for no subscription is a smaller third-party ecosystem.

“Files don’t sync like Creative Cloud”

Affinity Designer has no built-in cloud sync. Use iCloud Drive, Dropbox, or Google Drive to sync .afdesign files across devices. iPad and desktop versions read the same file format, so manual syncing works. Affinity V2 added improved cloud document support, but it’s not as seamless as Adobe’s Creative Cloud or Figma’s auto-sync.

“Should I switch from Illustrator to Affinity Designer?”

It depends on your situation. Switch if: you’re a freelancer or small studio tired of subscription fees, clients accept PDF/SVG deliverables, and you don’t rely heavily on Adobe-specific plugins. Stay with Illustrator if: you collaborate with agencies expecting AI files, need cutting-edge features Adobe adds continuously, or already pay for Creative Cloud. Many designers keep both: Affinity for personal projects, Illustrator for client work requiring Adobe compatibility.

“Which Affinity app do I need?”

For vector graphics (logos, illustrations, icons), you want Affinity Designer. For photo editing (retouching, compositing), get Affinity Photo. For multi-page layouts (magazines, books, brochures), use Affinity Publisher. The Universal License ($114.99) includes all three across Mac/Windows/iPad, which is cost-effective if you need more than one app.