Serif, developer of Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher just announced the company’s plan to help photographers, designers, artists and other creatives affected by the global pandemic.

The world is not how we knew it, and we know current events have had some pretty dire consequences for those of you in the creative community. We see on social media that commissions are being cancelled and upcoming work is uncertain. In these unpredictable times, we want to do all we can to help our community and the wider creative community.

The opening phrase from the Affinity Team announcement serves to reveal that Serif has decided “as part of our pledge to spend our annual commissioning budget in the next three months”, to launch a new initiative: 100 Days. 100 Commissions. It’s one of three measures aimed at helping photographers, designers, artists and other creatives affected by the global pandemic.

Affinity apps free for 90 days

Serif is also allowing anyone to use its creative app suite on Mac or Windows PC for 90 days free of charge, with no obligation, as ProVideo Coalition revealed recently. There’s also a 50% discount for users who would rather buy and keep the apps, including iPad versions, for a one-off price with no subscription. Now, the company has announced that will buy work from 100 contributors as part of efforts to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on the creative industry.

Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson says: “The big principle is that we’re not asking people to put effort into creating new work to pitch according to a tight brief.

“We’re always looking for real-world projects that have been created in Affinity apps and we know many people would have been working on briefs that have just been cancelled. Alternatively they may have unused projects or even something just done for fun.

“That’s the sort of work we’re looking to license, so contributors don’t waste time and effort preparing new work to pitch (unless they really want to) and might even get paid for something that’s been cancelled by a client.”

Affinity Photo projects

Examples Serif is keen to see include, but are not limited to:

• Print documents made in Affinity Publisher such as flyers, brochures, magazines, reports and book layouts
• Illustrations, graphic and UI design projects made in Affinity Designer, including website or app layouts, icons, logos and packaging
• Projects created in Affinity Photo such as portrait retouching, compositions, focus stacking, astrophotography, panoramas, HDR, fashion and product photography.

Participation is limited to one project per person, and Serif says that “if we accept your submission and you accept our licensing terms, we will pay you $1,500 USD for your work” The company adds that “We think it’s worth noting that the amount we usually pay for licensing varies depending on the experience and reputation of the creator, but in the current climate where everyone is affected, we don’t want to make that distinction. Plus, it’s logistically impossible for us to really do that for this initiative. We’re also keen to ensure as many creatives as possible benefit from this.”

Applications must be submitted by 20 April. For further details about terms and conditions and how to submit our work, follow the link to the webpage dedicated to the 100 Days. 100 Commissions initiative.