Affinity didn’t "just" go free. Canva, the same company that spent years devaluing graphic design and turning templates into “creativity,” just handed every designer on the planet a professional tool for zero dollars. And designers are cheering like this is a victory. But this move is bigger, deeper, and way more dangerous than anyone wants to admit.
Here's what we're not seeing: most graphic designers think this is just about cheaper tools. They see “free” and call it a win. But very few are stopping to ask the real questions. The uncomfortable ones. The ones that separate decorators from actual designers.
This week on The Angry Designer Podcast, we break down the hidden motives behind Affinity going free, why Canva is playing a much bigger game than designers realize, and how this single headline could reshape the entire future of graphic design for the next decade.
In this episode you'll discover
• The painful cost of “free” creative tools
• How Canva used Affinity to target the next generation of designers
• The real business model behind Affinity Free
This episode isn’t about Affinity or Canva. It’s about you. Because if you let billion dollar companies define your value, and your creative future, you’re not practicing design. You’re just participating in someone else’s ecosystem. And the consequences of being on the wrong side of this shift will hit your career faster than you think.
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