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I've been hearing the same background noise in the industry for a while: Adobe versus Affinity.
As a designer at the head of Indigo, I too have felt that exhaustion. The price increases, the subscription model that never seems to end and that shared feeling of being a little “hostage” to the ecosystem. It's normal that many of us are looking out, but honestly, I think the debate should not be about choosing a side.
From my experience, the problem is that we are asking ourselves the wrong question. Because this is not about software, but about freedom and judgment.
Adobe vs. Affinity: The Real Face to Face
So that it's not all philosophy, here's what I find on a daily basis when I jump from one tool to another in the studio.
1. The payment model: Rent or property?
- Adobe: It is the eternal “rent”. If you stop paying the monthly fee, your files are kept under lock and key. It is a fixed expense that at Indigo we have to budget yes or yes.
- Affinity: One time payment and you forget about it. It's yours forever. In a couple of months you've amortized it, giving you brutal financial breathing space, especially if you're just starting out.
2. Performance: Speed against weight
- Adobe: It's a suite with a lot of history (and lots of patches). Sometimes it feels heavy, consumes a lot of RAM and the computer looks like it's going to explode.
- Affinity: You can tell it's programmed from scratch for modern computers. It's ultra lightweight; opening large files larger than 1GB is almost instantaneous. It's pure visual pleasure.
3. The ecosystem and collaboration
- Adobe: He's still the king. The shared libraries, Adobe Fonts and the integration with stock are unbeatable. If my client needs the source file for their internal computer, 99% of the time they will ask me for a .PSD or an .AI.
- Affinity: It gets along well with Adobe files, but on very complex layers or specific effects, “scratches” can appear. If the project starts and ends in my hands, Affinity is perfect. If it's a choral work with other studios, Adobe is usually the necessary toll.
4. Artificial Intelligence
- Adobe: This is where they're putting all the meat on the grill. Tools like Firefly's generative filler save hours of boring retouching... Although I have to say that sometimes more than a fairground shotgun fails.
- Affinity: For now, they move on from AI. Their bet is on manual precision and that you are the one who controls each pixel. It's for those of us who enjoy the “artisanal” process.
The criteria above the icon
This is where I think a lot of them fail. The problem isn't the program. The problem is confusing the tool with the talent.
In my daily life, it is clear to me that Knowing how to use software is not designing. Designing is making decisions, discarding options and understanding what the client in front of me needs. A mediocre design at Adobe is still mediocre. A good idea executed in Affinity is still a jewel. The value of what I do in the studio doesn't live in the application code, it lives in my head.
Designing starts long before you open your Mac
Before layers, vectors and fighting with typography, in Indigo We ask ourselves the real questions:
- What are we trying to communicate?
- Who are we talking to?
- What problem are we solving?
Design begins with judgment and good taste. When you have that clear, the software fades into the background. It's just the hammer to build the house.
My conclusion
Fewer flags and more common sense.
In the study, we use the tool that best suits the project and, above all, our mental health. Sometimes it'll be Adobe for logistics, other times it'll be Affinity for pleasure, and tomorrow it'll be another one we don't even know about.
Changing software can give you a financial break, but Change mentality is what truly transforms your career. In the end, what I sign as Sergi are not .psd or .afdesign files.
