I have previously mentioned that I am a creative professional, specifically a graphic designer. Throughout my 7 years of school and freelance work, we were consistently required to utilize the costly Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe software has been around since 1987, and ever since then, it has dominated the world of graphic design as the go-to creative software suite. All Adobe CC (Creative Cloud) is now a whopping $69.99 every month! The price alone is outrageous and adds up to over $800 a year.
There have been alternatives, of course, like the one-time payment Affinity software suite by Serif, or the many open-source programs like GIMP or Inkscape. However, as amazing as these programs are, they were never able to touch the tools that Adobe has refined for over 30 years. Neural filters in Photoshop, Image Trace in Illustrator, and the intricate typography additions in InDesign are some features that could never quite be replicated by Adobe's competition.
Late last year, Canva, an online suite of tools for graphic designers, acquired Affinity, sparking both hope and existential dread. We can now finally hope for another company with infinite resources to rival Adobe in expanding their creative tools! However, the prospect of Canva turning a one-time payment bundle into a subscription model filled us as graphic designers with dread.
Canva To The Rescue
I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes, Canva has come to our rescue. As of October 29th, 2025, the Affinity Studio creative suite is free for all to use, in its entirety. And it's really good.
Imagine Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign all in one program. Yeah, that's Affinity Studio. I used it to make the featured image of this blog post, and it was exceptional. I moved around all the internal tabs: Vector (like Illustrator), Pixel (like Photoshop), and Layout (like InDesign) like it was nothing. Adobe truly has competition here, and it's no joke. To access AI features, you have to pay for Canva Premium, which is $15 a month, and I'm fine with that. To get Adobe quality features for more than half the monthly price is a phenomenal deal.
Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, apart from the AI features, is totally free; that's absolutely insane to me!
I Love Design; This Is A Dream Come True
When I graduated from university in 2023, I left school incredibly burnt out on graphic design. I had spent so much time refining my craft and trying to obtain a design job that I slowly lost interest in the design world. My love for the craft did not falter, but I found design, typography, and layout a hassle to keep up with. I had spent the next two years "career searching" and "taking a break" before I found my current job.
Adobe's paywalled approach to graphic design presents another challenge. My student discount was no longer available. So, I just said f*ck it and took a break. Being unable to afford a career gateway discouraged me. Affinity Studio has reinvigorated my love for design. Using the new tools brought me happiness; I could finally bring back one of my hobbies, really my career, and work rigorously.
The Future And I
I plan to produce more design-related posts in the coming weeks. I hope my love of design will inspire others to join me in creating!
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