This week, Affinity announced version 2 of their software. This is convenient timing because I am already talking about these applications in the wake of Adobe charging a subscription for the use of Pantone colors. If you want to read more about that, you can check out my Affinity Photo review.
The new update is not a free one, but in my opinion well worth the cost. Currently, a universal license for the entire update is on sale for just under $100. This is a one time payment (not subscription based!) that includes Photo 2, Designer 2, and Publisher 2 for both Mac and PC. It also includes all three updated iPad apps. The process for downloading the applications is also much easier than in the past. Instead of an individual product key you need to keep track of, you simply log into the apps with your Affinity log in. There seems to be better synchrony between the apps in general, the iPad apps in particular.
Designer 2 is a vector based application similar to Adobe Illustrator. Vectors are based on mathematics instead of pixels and as a result can be sized up and down indefinitely without degrading in quality. This is useful for things that need to be blown up to a large scale, like billboards, or for things that need to change size often, like logos.
Upon launch, Designer 2 looks remarkably similar to the original app. The interface has had a little bit of a design refresh, but the workflow is for the most part the same. As with all Affinity apps, the workspace is fully customizable to suite your specific artistic needs.
One of the big critiques artists had for Affinity Designer is that it lacked a shape tool. Designer 2 finally saw the release of this feature that allows shapes to be easily combined or cut apart with the simple drag of the mouse. Previously, shapes could only be combined with the add, subtract, and intersect buttons located at the top of the page. The new shape tool is amazing! It was easy to use and saved me quite a bit of time.
Designer 2 also launched a blade tool that allows users to quickly cut shapes into pieces. While I'm still getting the hang of using it, it was super convenient for breaking my shapes in half quickly.
For work specifically with interior design or housing layouts, Designer 2 comes with an area measurement tool. This tool gives the area of the shape itself rather than the bounding box. Personally, I can't think of a way I would use this in my practice, but it's a cool feature nevertheless.
In Designer 2, warping can be applied non destructively. This means that an image can be manipulated without destroying the original. If the effect is at any time unwanted, the mesh can be reset with the click of a button.
I thought that Affinity Designer was worth it before the update, but it makes an even stronger argument for itself with the addition of the shape tool alone. While it is a pricier upfront cost, it is equivalent to the cost of less than 4 months of an Adobe subscription. In the long run, I'd say that's worth it.
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