""When used light and small, it's super precise and premium; in its big, fat, expressive italic form, it looks more bold and a bit weird," Tom explains. Overall the tone of voice is packed with wit and in-jokes, from its copywriting down to its new file name, .af - which apart from being on every file you export from the programme, is also used in myriad, tongue-in-cheek ways across merch, such as its "Sketchy.af" notebook."
"The colour scheme is a nice touch as well: rather than straightforward monochrome, its palette includes charcoal, graphite, putty, paper - tactile, material-based colours inspired by artists, with a lime green colour for a "punch of punk". This also acts as a helpfully muted backdrop to all the very vibrant original artwork Affinity has commissioned for the product, letting creative work take the limelight (as per its ethos)."
"The rebrand was done with a panel of design professionals and an advisory board featuring the likes of Debbie Millman, Eddie Opara and Lisa Smith. With so many opinions chiming in and considerations for the brand's new identity, Tom says his approach was to get two prototypes "down on paper" as early in the process as possible, one that was distinctly Affinity and one that was like a pro version of Canva. "Rather than people debating words on a page,""
The typeface Affinity Serif was developed with Ohno as a bespoke adaptation of Swear and is available in six weights, versatile from precise small-sized use to bold expressive italics. The tone of voice uses wit and in-jokes, including a playful file extension '.af' used on exports and merchandise like a 'Sketchy.af' notebook. The palette favors tactile, material-inspired colours—charcoal, graphite, putty, paper—with a lime green accent for a 'punch of punk', providing a muted backdrop for vibrant commissioned artwork. The rebrand involved design professionals and an advisory board, early prototyping of two distinct directions, and a modular, adaptive design system likened to jazz.
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