Every day I move closer to an open-source creative workflow
As a previous graphic designer, Adobe software has always been my go-to. Adobe is considered the industry standard for graphic design and digital illustration. There are loads of
great open-source alternatives to Adobe creative software
, but there are still issues with using open-source tools. However, there are many big issues with Adobe that push me more toward using open-source alternatives as standard, and these aren’t the same issues found in open-source creative software. Open-source might be slower or require multiple tools for a suite, but it doesn’t have these major problems like Adobe software does. 5
Pricing
The amount and the structure
Price is the main reason most people prefer to switch to alternative or open-source software rather than using Adobe software.
You get what you pay for with Adobe: Award-winning software developed by passionate teams of experts. But how much is too much to keep paying for these tools? Adobe raises its prices yearly, and if you’re a hobbyist, the prices aren’t sustainable.
Adobe offers student pricing for those in higher education, but those prices are still high when
comparing Adobe with the Affinity Suite
and most especially to any open-source free tools.
While Adobe has some free tools — namely apps like Adobe Express and Adobe Fresco — there is no free desktop software, even with limited functions. This holds back anyone who is simply looking to learn a skill, those who wish to change into careers in the creative industries, or hobbyist creatives who don’t make money or use their creations in professional settings. 4
Unending AI features
It’s everywhere you look
I might sound like old woman shouts at cloud for this, but I think the unending addition of AI tools into creative software is encouraging designers to be lazier. Of course, if I think of this too hard, then computers and digital software are the bad guys too — graphic designers and editors previously created layouts with no computers at all. Maybe accepting AI is part of moving with the times.
