I recently tested Affinity Designer, a professional vector and raster graphic design software available for Windows, macOS, and iPad. My experience with the platform was overwhelmingly positive, especially considering its one-time payment model, which is a breath of fresh air compared to the ongoing subscription fees demanded by many competitors. What impressed me first was the software’s speed and responsiveness. Even when working on complex projects with thousands of objects and multiple artboards, Affinity Designer handled everything smoothly without lag. The interface is modern, clean, and user-friendly, making it easy to organize layers, set up grids, and use color tagging. The ability to zoom up to a million percent and the live outline view are features that truly enhance precision and control during design work. The versatility of Affinity Designer stands out. It combines both vector and raster workspaces in a single application, allowing me to add texture with raster brushes or edit single pixels on icons without switching software. The software offers hundreds of timesaving tools, such as attribute matching, customizable keyboard shortcuts, and linked symbols. Its sophisticated typography tools let you flow text along any path and create custom styles, which is a big plus for branding and editorial design. Performance on both desktop and iPad is excellent. Using a stylus on the iPad, brush strokes felt natural and fluid, with a variety of vector brushes available for different artistic effects. The seamless compatibility of files across devices means I could start a design on my iPad and finish it on my desktop without any issues. File format support is broad, including JPEG, PDF, SVG, PSD, PNG, TIFF, GIF, and more. However, I did notice that while Affinity Designer does a good job with most formats, compatibility with Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files is not always perfect, which could be a minor inconvenience for those collaborating with Adobe users. The learning curve is gentle for new users, especially with the help of built-in tutorials, contextual hints, and an active online community. However, if you are coming from Adobe Illustrator, you may need a bit of time to adjust to some differences in workflow and feature sets. Some advanced features like envelope distort/warping and scripting are still missing, which might be a limitation for power users. Overall, Affinity Designer provides outstanding value. The one-off purchase model makes it highly accessible, and the software is robust enough for professional work—whether you’re designing logos, UI mockups, illustrations, or print materials. Its speed, intuitive interface, and powerful feature set make it a top contender for anyone looking to break free from expensive subscriptions. In summary, Affinity Designer is a versatile, high-performance design tool that delivers professional results without the ongoing cost. While it may lack a few advanced features compared to industry giants, its affordability, speed, and ease of use make it an excellent choice for both beginners and seasoned designers.