Canva, the world’s only all-in-one visual communication platform, has announced the acquisition of Affinity, a creative software suite.
The lucrative deal gives the company ownership over Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher — three popular creative applications for Windows, Mac, and iPad.
Canva’s acquisition of Affinity supercharges its vision of offering the ultimate design toolbox. After dominating the beginner market, they’re now unlocking pro-level tools for designers of all levels.
Image Source Canva
Canva x Affinity Enhancing Access to Professional Tools
Since its inception in 2013, Canva has gained over 175 million users across 190 countries and over 100 languages. For the last ten years, the company has focused heavily on the 99% of knowledge workers without design training, genuinely empowering the world to design, including empowering professional designers.
By joining forces with Affinity, they are excited to unlatch the full spectrum of designers at every level and stage of the design journey.
“We share Affinity’s belief that professional design software should be intuitive, affordable, fast, and smooth. With Affinity, professional designers have access to everything they need at an affordable price and without the complexity of traditional design tools. Together, we’re excited to turn their movement into a revolution.”
Affinity: Empowering Professional Designers
Built for speed and packed with pro features, Affinity’s all-in-one suite empowers photographers and designers with powerful editing, design, and layout tools. It’s a cost-effective alternative to subscriptions, offering unmatched versatility and precision for any creative workflow.
Their core products – Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher – have been lauded for their fast performance and seamless cross-platform compatibility across macOS, Windows and iPadOS.
Furthermore, Affinity has won several industry awards, including an Apple Design Award, Apple App of the Year for Mac and iPad, and the Microsoft Application Developer of the Year.
According to Affinity’s official statement, it reinforces its focus on the enterprise in a step to build an all-in-one platform for every type of designer. Commenting on the deal, Ashley Hewson, CEO of Affinity, said,
“Since the inception of Affinity, our mission has been to empower creatives with tools that unleash their full potential, fostering a community where innovation and artistry flourish.”
She added, “We’ve worked tirelessly to challenge the status quo, delivering professional-grade creative software that is both accessible and affordable. Canva’s commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with those values. We couldn’t be more excited about becoming part of the Canva family and can’t wait to see what we will achieve together.”
With this strategic move, Canva aims to integrate Affinity’s technology, user base and features into its existing offerings. This acquisition could change how both platforms operate, offering users new features, better integration, or expanded services.
Additionally, it signifies increased accessibility for users to professional-grade tools, potentially empowering a broader spectrum of individuals to create high-quality designs.
Apart from that, this integration also means increased competition in the design software market. This deal could pressure established players like Adobe to be more competitive in pricing and features.
Overall, the acquisition of Affinity by Canva is a significant shakeup in the design software landscape. While the specifics remain to be seen, one thing’s for sure: the future of design software promises to be more innovative and inclusive than ever before.
