Affinity is an all-in-one creative app that combines vector illustration, photo editing, and page layout in a single non-destructive workspace, giving designers, illustrators, and photographers professional-grade tools without juggling separate applications.
Affinity is a graphics editor that treats illustration, image editing, and publishing as one continuous project. Instead of exporting between three programs, you switch between Vector, Pixel, and Layout studios inside the same document, so a logo drawn with curves can be retouched, retyped, and paginated without conversion. The workflow stays non-destructive: adjustments, masks, and effects stack in the layers panel and remain editable from first sketch to final export. Affinity opens common design, photo, and CAD formats with layers and structure intact, and finished artwork exports to print-ready PDF, SVG, or PNG. For illustrators, photographers, and small studios, that means one toolchain covering the whole creative process.
Most creative teams now juggle several subscriptions, so the appeal of one comprehensive workspace such as Affinity is easy to understand — the same logic that makes Internet Download Manager the default choice when you want a single dependable tool rather than a patchwork of utilities. Customisable workspaces let you hide tools you never use and pull layout or photo panels into the vector studio when a project demands it. Import support for common design, photo, and CAD formats means existing assets arrive with layers intact. Optional Canva AI tools, available on premium plans, add generative fill, background removal, and editable vector generation without leaving the canvas. Because every studio shares one file, Affinity projects travel as a single editable asset.
The obvious benefit of Affinity is cost: every tool in the Vector, Pixel, and Layout studios is available without a subscription, so freelancers and students can work with professional-grade software from day one. Because the same file holds vectors, pixels, and pages, revisions rarely involve re-exporting or rebuilding elements, which shortens feedback loops with clients — a practical advantage for small teams. Affinity is also fast with demanding documents: thousands of layers and extreme zoom levels stay responsive thanks to hardware-accelerated rendering, and non-destructive stacks mean experiments can be unwound instead of undone. Output flexibility matters too: assets can be exported by artboard or slice in print, web, and vector formats, delivered as editable Affinity files that colleagues can open at no cost, or pushed straight into Canva for collaborative campaigns. For photographers, RAW development, masks, and batch processing sit alongside typographic and layout tools that would otherwise require a second purchase, keeping a whole studio's work in one application.
Draw curves, retouch images, and paginate a finished document inside one file. Switching between studios takes a single click, so a logo can be reshaped, adjusted, and placed on a page without any export-and-reimport step interrupting the project.
Adjustments, masks, blend modes, and effects stay stacked and re-editable in the layers panel. Any step can be reordered or removed later, and saved undo history lets you rewind from a final export back to your first edit.
Open PSD, AI, IDML, DWG, PDF, SVG, and TIFF files with layers and structure preserved, which makes it practical to continue existing client work or hand assets between teams. Complex appearance stacks may simplify on import, so checking artwork afterwards is worthwhile.
Hide panels you never touch, or pull photo and layout tools into the vector studio when a particular job needs them. Saving more than one arrangement lets you move between illustration, retouching, and page-building tasks without relearning a crowded interface each time.
Healing brushes, live adjustments, selections, masks, and blend modes cover portrait retouching and compositing work. RAW development handles exposure and colour before pixel editing begins, and batch processing applies the same corrections across a folder of images without repeating every step manually.
Master pages, linked text frames, character and paragraph styles, and advanced typography controls support brochures, magazines, and long documents without switching to a second application. Text flows with the artwork, so a layout built around edited images and vectors needs no manual reflowing later.
Export by object, slice, or artboard, or run a whole batch in one pass, to PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and WebP. Print-ready presets keep specification sheets and marketing assets consistent, and a one-step route into Canva moves approved artwork straight into live collaboration.
Scripts run across vector, pixel, and layout content in the same document, which suits repetitive production work such as pricing updates, templated asset generation, or bulk text changes. Automating those passes keeps large catalogues and product sheets accurate without touching each element by hand.
Yes. The Vector, Pixel, and Layout studios, workspace customisation, and export options are available at no cost, with updates included. The optional Canva AI tools, such as generative fill and background removal, require a premium Canva plan.
Logo and icon design, digital illustration, UI mockups, photo retouching and RAW development, and multi-page layout for print or digital publishing all live in the same document, so you can move between them without exporting.
It imports PSD, AI, IDML, and DWG files along with PDF, SVG, and TIFF, keeping layers and structure intact. Appearance stacks, masks, and some advanced effects may flatten or simplify during import, so check complex artwork after opening.
You can export vector and raster assets to PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and WebP, by object, slice, or artboard. Batch export and print-ready presets speed up production, and finished files can be sent directly to Canva.
Yes. RAW development is part of the photo workflow, alongside adjustments, masks, blend modes, retouching brushes, and batch processing, so camera files can be prepared and edited without a separate converter.
A free Canva account is used to sign in and download the app. It gives access to every design, photo, and layout tool; only the Canva AI features inside the app are reserved for premium subscribers.
Yes. Master pages, linked text frames, text styles, and typographic controls are built for books, brochures, and multi-page layouts, and documents export to print-ready PDF with bleed and crop options available.
Share the project file, which anyone can open and edit without paying, and colleagues can work in the same document without conversion. Teams can also export artwork to Canva to collaborate in real time and scale assets into wider campaigns.
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