I installed the latest Adobe logo/album artwork design related programs and almost immediately my PC started showing some odd behavior. There was constantly 5 or 6 different programs running in Task Manager even when not using any Adobe programs. So I deleted everything. Not the same good old Adobe photoshop, illustrator etc I used on my older PC's.

So whats a good alternative for basic (but high quality) vector logo (think simple custom font) and album photo/art design that you guys can recommend?


*or maybe I should find old standalone versions of Photoshop and Illustrator that work on either Windows 11 or 10 and dont have all the cloud and whatever other new crap they added?

 

you probably want the 2018 versions

 

Hey thanks for the reply. I suppose if theyre the last standalone versions that will work on new PC's, then yes. Last ones I used were on a Win7 system and even those were older. SO v2018 or are there specific names to search for?

 

master collection cc 2018 should work, iirc there was an installer by a dude named painter but I dunno if it still works

 

Serif Affinity Designer or Inkscape should do what you want and Inkscape is free.

 

I use and like Inkscape.

I don't know Serif but from what I've read and heard from the few around me who use it is solid and for $55 it's definitely worth looking into.

 

I paid for Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo 3 years ago, and continue to get free updates. I imagine V2 will eventually be released, and I'll definitely pay for the upgrade. If you know Photoshop well, it will be a very simple learning process. It doesn't do everything the same, and some things aren't quite as intuitive as Photoshop, but owning it and not being a slave to Adobe makes it more than worth it.

 

You guys are great! I saw those Affinity and Inkscape softs listed in my searching around, but wasnt sure cause some reviews were giving a lot of "cons" to them. But I am not making a fucn aniDisney movie here, just need to make a few custom fonts and album photo/art that is scalable for all sizes without losing quality, on the cheap and wont screw with my new computer. Is Affinity an all in one type thing or will I need vphoto, vdesign, vweb etc etc etc? Is there a specific Affinity version I should look for, on the less than legit sites, to give a go on? If anybody could PM me a link it would be mucho appreciated!

 

Every Adobe version even 2017 works up to latest Windows, so don't worry about that.

 

Affinity designer has a 10 day trial and as i said, inkscape is free.

 

Hey @dumplings, do you know/think if that was some malware running with these latest versions or just adobe's background progs and services mess? I was thinking of installing the latest stuff (22, 2021 running atm), but a bit hesitant since I read quite a few negative reports. Any particular release? (ofc no linking).

I agree with the guys to steer away from adobe in the long run..

 

you can check Xara designer Pro
read your PM for a free version

 

No malware that I could find, from reputable source, but yes, definitely lots of background programs and services running amuck, lots of hidden files and folders, it all wants and tries to connect to each other and go online and cloud to and or whatever, so kinda malllllywareish?

I think thats the whole idea of the new Adobe thing isnt it - connect everything, its sooo easy, convenient and coooool. Whatever. Like I said, in a sense it basically tried to take control of my otherwise perfectly working new pc, weird shit immediately started happening on the desktop and taskbar, so no - gone delete delete delete as fast as possible and not fast enough. I will not ever willingly re-install any new Adobe products on this computer. I do have music to make, games to play and dumplings to eat after all.................

 

Sorry dude I dont want any subscriptions here. They can kiss me phat arse. Thanks.

 

this is only the official page. the trial remain free and the fix link is in your mail box.
i can't make more. i am only a user.

 

For recent logo design trends, inkscape is great choice. People even design logos in Figma (Adobe bought Figma recently).

 

My opinion about Adobe has soured over the years but I still use Illustrator.
Next I would use Affinity designer. It's more streamined and ( in my experience) is more accurate when it comes to measuring stuff and pixel perfect placement. Then there is Xara Designer which is really fast and has features for building websites and desktop publishing. That's probably the cheaper app if you are on a budget. Free, as mentioned already, is Inkscape. Open source and free. No competition really.
I also still use Flash, still great for vector drawing.

 

Wow, that's a classic that changed the game quite a many years ago. Still rocks today?

I used it to make covers for my burned CDs. Good shit

 

Last edited: Oct 6, 2022

Yup good call! Inkscape is where it's as for open source software that is fully featured enough for vector graphics, I personally use Krita and a few third party plugins for it and achieve very satisfactory results.