Ever since coming to the realization that I wanted to be in the digital creative industry, I knew I had to acquire Adobe software. Back in the day, the Adobe Suite was the industry standard for any digital design work. Some might even say that still holds true, but times are changing and I’m willing to test the waters. Afterall, how can we innovate if we can’t accept change? Anyway, back in 2007, I received my first copy of Adobe CS3 Extended and this is what further led my discovery into the graphic design world. Now that I have been in this career for a decade, and using the same piece of software, I think it’s time to venture out.
Before we press forward with this article, I have a confession to make. The title of this article is a bit misleading, I’m sorry. While I am making the switch away from Adobe Creative Cloud, specifically Adobe Illustrator, I will still be using their other programs until I find a replacement. On top of that, Adobe Creative Cloud is still the industry standard, even if I said times are changing just a few lines ago. At the end of the day, designers do not want to leave a program they know so fluently and have a balanced workflow. In some scenarios, I fall into this category. I’m just willing to branch out for a number of reasons and you will learn these reasons if you continue to read on.
Let’s get started!
Have you ever been working on a design and then poof, your program crashes and all the hard work you’ve been doing is gone, in a blink of an eye? This has happened to me countless times while designing in Adobe Illustrator. It’s rare that I get so angry I feel my blood pressure right, but whenever Adobe crashes, this happens. You know what the worst part is? This isn’t an isolated issue. It happens all the time, no matter how many precautions I take.
You might ask: “Why don’t you use the autosave feature?”
I do, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t work 100% of the time. To take it a step further, my Adobe programs will frequently crash when the autosave dialog pops up and the autosave begins its process. While autosaving is crucial, I feel like the process has a memory leak that Adobe isn’t fixing. I’m not the only one who encounters this issue and if Adobe is failing to acknowledge bugs in their software, why should I continue to use it as a professional piece of software? Losing hours worth of work is not very productive. In fact, it just hinders my productivity and in return, puts more stress on me and my client if I’m on a tight deadline.
Not cool!
Are you new to the design industry and feel overwhelmed when you open up Adobe Illustrator? If so, don’t feel alone! I’ve been doing this for a decade now and I still feel that way every time I create a new document. No matter how many times I move around my workspace, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with all the things I’m looking at. Simply put, the interface has way too many options. Let’s be honest, not EVERY option you need has to be shown at any given moment.
It’s complicated to learn, complicated to remember, badly labeled…it just needs to be modernized and cleaned up. For as long as I can remember, the interface has had no improvements. Nothing has been done to make it more appealing, easy to understand, etc.
Paying a monthly fee in order to use a service, or program, doesn’t seem like a bad idea, right? Think about it, there are thousands of business models based on this concept and it’s working. I get it! Heck, with Adobe switching to this model, a lot more people feel they can afford their programs and have no problem shelling out the monthly bill. I am just not a fan of paying a monthly fee to essentially rent professional programs that I use on a daily basis. Buying these programs makes much more sense. Yearly, I’m paying roughly $636 to use the Adobe Creative Cloud. I’ve been paying this since 2013…do the math. That’s roughly $2,500 at the time of this article. That’s a lot of money on programs I’m renting to use for my professional services.
Sure, I’ve made that money back ten fold, but it just feels like a kick-in-the-butt to me since I do not own these programs. Maybe I’m acting like a child when talking about the recurring payment of Creative Cloud, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. Again, the business model is working for thousands of companies and for most, I am ok with it. However, when using these professional programs that I was once able to physically buy and own forever…not sure how I’m feeling. I’m torn.
More specifically, what’s going to be replacing Adobe Illustrator? Since I’m still on the hunt for other programs to replace Audition, After Effects, and Premiere, I’ll still have my service for another month or two.
Anyway, I’ve been doing a bunch of research trying to figure out which program will suit my needs the best for my Illustrator replacement. Sketch was also at the top of my life, especially at a one-time fee of $100! it seems that a lot of designers are migrating over to their software. I didn’t want to pull the trigger right away on Sketch, so I kept doing my research and came across Affinity Designer.
Affinity Designer is a full-featured vector based program, just like Illustrator, but also gives you the ability to work in pixels just like Photoshop! Say what?! The best part…it’s only a one-time payment of $50. This is the program that I will be using to replace Illustrator. As a matter of fact, I’ve already purchased it and created a few logo concepts for a client. So far, I’m loving it.
The user interface is modern and very simple to navigate. I don’t have the sense of overwhelming rage when creating a new project. A lot of the shortcuts are the same, and if I don’t like the default option, they allow me to change them. While there may be some bugs with the program, I need to keep in mind it’s only version 1.5. I’ll be considered an early adopter as the program continues to grow in popularity. The best part is, all future upgrades will be free!
My favorite feature about this program is the ability to export .PSD files, as well as open .AI and .PSD files. It works together so if your client requests the source files for Adobe products, you can still produce those for them. In my industry, that’s huge!
Never in a million years did I imagine leaving Adobe Creative Cloud in the dust and moving on with the times. Now that I’ve begun the process, I haven’t looked back. Since beginning this new adventure, I feel like I’m an eagle that’s just been set free, and it’s breathtaking! Almost feels as if I relieved myself from debt. It’s crazy! I still have a huge interest in purchasing Sketch, but I’ll save that for a later date. I’m also looking at you, Principle!
Here’s why I’m leaving Adobe Creative Cloud in a nutshell:
Are you a designer who has recently made the jump to ditch Adobe Creative Cloud? If so, which programs are you using and why? I’d love to hear from you in the comment section!
