Affinity Designer 2.6.5 — macOS

The Pencil tool improvements in version 2.6 are what caught my attention first. Drawing freehand curves feels more responsive now, with fewer unwanted anchor points to clean up afterward. That matters when you’re sketching rough concepts or tracing reference images. The Stroke Width Tool also got a reset profile option, which saves time when you’ve adjusted a line’s thickness and want to start over without undoing everything. Affinity Designer sits comfortably between a pure vector app and a raster editor, letting you switch between the two workspaces without leaving the document. That means you can draft a logo with sharp curves, then jump over to paint bitmap textures on the same canvas. It handles PSD, AI, PDF, SVG, and EXR files, so it works with whatever comes your way from clients or colleagues. Unlimited artboards and full OpenType text support make it practical for multi-page projects like brochures or icon sets. It runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs alike, right back to macOS 10.15. The Touch Bar and Force Touch trackpad support are nice extras if you use them, but the app doesn’t rely on gimmicks. It’s a solid tool for anyone who needs precision vector work alongside raster painting in one place.

For an app that does both vector and raster work, you might wonder what it asks of your Mac. The system requirements are straightforward: macOS 10.15 or later, and it runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel 64-bit machines. That covers everything from an older 2015 MacBook Pro to the latest M4 iMac. The app uses Metal and OpenGL for graphics, along with Grand Central Dispatch and Core Graphics, which are standard macOS technologies. You don't need a top-tier machine to get work done, but having a decent GPU helps when you're zooming in on dense vector art or applying live effects.

A designer's typical morning with it

Say you're a freelance logo designer who gets client briefs as rough sketches on paper. You scan those sketches, bring them into Affinity Designer as a placed image, and create a new layer above to trace the shapes with the Pen tool. The Pencil tool improvements in 2.6 mean you can also sketch digital concepts directly on screen, with brush and pencil stabilization smoothing out the wobble from your hand. Once you have the basic curves, you switch to the Node tool to fine-tune anchor points. You might set up a few artboards for different logo variations, each with its own color palette using the CMYK color model for print-ready output. When the client sends back a PDF with notes, you open it directly, make edits, and export as an SVG for their web developer. No file conversion headaches.

What the 2.6 updates changed in daily work

Version 2.6 brought three practical changes. The Pencil tool improvements mean fewer stray points when you draw freehand, which saves time during cleanup. The Stroke Width Tool now includes a Reset Profile button, so if you adjust a line's thickness profile and decide it's not working, you can revert to the default profile in one click instead of manually dragging each point back. And there's a new toggle for marquee select intersection behavior: holding Command (or Ctrl on a Windows keyboard) switches between selecting objects that are fully inside the marquee versus objects that are partially inside. That small change makes a difference when you're selecting overlapping elements in a busy composition.

A more robust alternative to Adobe Illustrator for Mac

Affinity Designer versus Adobe Illustrator

It also includes the raster workspace, which Illustrator doesn't offer natively. File compatibility is good: Affinity Designer reads and writes AI and PDF files, though complex Illustrator documents with certain effects may need some cleanup. For most logo, icon, and illustration work, the difference is negligible.

Affinity Designer versus Sketch

Sketch is popular among UI and web designers, but it's Mac-only and focused on screen design. Affinity Designer handles both screen and print work, with full CMYK and ICC color management that Sketch lacks. Sketch has strong symbol and component systems for UI kits, while Affinity Designer gives you more flexibility with unlimited artboards and the ability to mix vector and raster in one document. If your work spans print materials and digital interfaces, Affinity Designer is the more versatile choice.

Affinity Designer versus Vectorstyler

Vectorstyler is a newer vector app that emphasizes gradient meshes and advanced color tools. It's lighter on system resources and has some unique features for complex gradients. But it doesn't include a raster workspace, and its file format compatibility is narrower than Affinity Designer's. For someone who needs to open PSD, AI, EPS, and SVG files regularly, Affinity Designer is the safer bet. Vectorstyler might appeal to illustrators who focus heavily on gradient work, but for general vector design and print production, Affinity Designer is more practical.

- Pencil tool improvements for smoother freehand drawing. - Stroke Width Tool profiling improvements and Reset Profile option. - Command or Ctrl toggle for marquee select intersection behaviour. - Bug fixes and stability improvements.

• macOS 10.15 or later
• 64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon processor