Affinity Designer

Attractive vectors Can Serif’s new app topple the vector king?

If you want to design or create with vectors, most people would turn to Adobe Illustrator. But with Affinity Designer, one of three apps being released by Serif this year, Illustrator has a serious contender, and one that now operates on Macs – a first for publisher Serif.

On launching AD you’re presented with a stylish, dark interface. In terms of the toolset, it rivals Illustrator pretty closely: the normal Bézier feature set means you can draw precise curves; Layers make it possible to organise your artwork and edit on an object-level; and the Brush tools enable you to create custom brushes and apply natural-looking vector strokes. There’s also some great effects tools, including nifty Layer Effects.

But the best thing of all? The speed. Affinity Designer is fast (try out the beta at the link above). And you can work in CMYK mode, meaning it can be used not only for digital output, but print as well. With a flat price of £35 when released in October, those looking for a fast, powerful vector tool without paying a monthly subscription charge (as with Adobe) should check it out.

With Layer Effects you can add drop shadows, glows and more by using a familiar panel.

Affinity Designer is powerful and best of all, significantly cheaper than Adobe’s Illustrator.