Serif's Affinity photo editing, graphic design and page layout software joins the major Australian group Canva, which offers the online graphic design software of the same name.
Based in the UK, Affinity employs 90 people. Available on Windows, Mac and iPad, the creative suite includes Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Much more affordable than its competitors Adobe or Corel, and based on perpetual licenses, it has three million creative professionals.
As for Canva, its mission is to democratize creativity by "to allow everyone to design and publish according to their desires" . Launched in 2013, it is online-based and accessible via subscriptions. Over 100 million monthly users use Canva.
"By joining forces with Affinity, we're delighted to unlock the full range of designers at every level and stage of the design journey." says Canva. In other words, it is opening up its offer to professional designers.
For Affinity CEO Ashley Hewson, who remains in her post, this is an important new chapter. "Thanks to their additional resources, we'll be able to deliver much more, much faster. What's more, we can forge new horizons for Affinity products, opening up a world of possibilities that would never have been possible before."
Canva and Affinity are committed to ensuring that Affinity continues to be available for licensing. "If we offer a subscription, it will always be as an option in addition to the perpetual model, for those who prefer it." he says.
Affinity joins a number of other European companies now part of Canva, including Flourish, Kaleido, SmartMockups, Pexels, Pixabay and SlidesCarnival.
