Why Affinity Going Free Is the Best Thing to Happen to Designers (and Maybe the Worst Thing for Adobe).

When I launched Backbone Studio back in 2023, I made a conscious choice: no subscriptions, no bloat, no Adobe tax.

Instead, I put my trust in Affinity's suite of software (Designer, Publisher, and Photo) a trio of beautifully made tools that gave creatives like me freedom. Real, buy-it-once-and-own-it freedom.

So when the news broke that Canva was buying Affinity in 2024, I’ll admit… my stomach dropped faster than a pixelated gradient.

After all, for years, professional designers have taken turns rolling their eyes at Canva considering it the DIY design playground for "anyone with an opinion on fonts." The idea that the same company might now control a suite of tools built for professionals was, let’s just say, unsettling.

But here’s where I take a U-turn. Because what Canva hasn’t done (at least so far) is f*ck it up.

🟢 They made it Free. Forever. For Everyone.

Affinity’s new direction is simple and shockingly bold: the full suite of professional software is now completely free!! No trials. No “lite” versions. No 7-day countdown to panic-export all your files. This isn’t just generous, it’s disruptive AF.

It’s a rallying cry for the designers, illustrators, publishers, and small studios who’ve been quietly rebelling against the “rent your creativity monthly” model.

It’s also another punch in the gut for Adobe’s endless subscriptions. (Somewhere in San Jose, a product manager just spilled their oat latte.) Sure, their suite of AI tools are hidden behind the Canva-Pro pay wall but even opting into those is a fraction of the cost of CC's subscription.

But What About the Designers? Should we be worried about giving access to pro grade software to mere mortals? Hell no. 

Here’s the thing (or at least my opinion) you can teach anyone software, but you can’t teach everyone creativity.

Making powerful tools more accessible doesn’t devalue professional design, it amplifies it. Because the gap between “knowing how” and “knowing why” has never been wider. If anything, Affinity going free will create a new generation of people who understand design enough to appreciate the real thing! The thinking, craft, and clarity that goes into work made by actual creatives.

So yeh, Canva now owns Affinity. And yeh, I still can’t believe I’m saying this…

But maybe..... just maybe.... that’s a great thing.