Convert AFDESIGN to AI

A print shop, client, or Illustrator-based production workflow may require an editable .ai file instead of an Affinity Designer project. Affinity Designer does not natively save AFDESIGN documents as AI, so the file must pass through an interchange format such as SVG or PDF and then be saved by Adobe Illustrator.

What the AFDESIGN format is

.afdesign is Affinity Designer's native project format for macOS, Windows, and iPadOS. It can preserve layers, vector objects, artboards, typography, embedded or linked images, symbols, constraints, effects, and document settings that are specific to Affinity Designer. Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and Inkscape do not provide full native support for the AFDESIGN project structure.

What the AI format is

.ai is Adobe Illustrator's native document format. It can preserve Illustrator layers, artboards, paths, gradients, brushes, symbols, appearance attributes, and other editable artwork. AI is appropriate when the recipient must continue editing the file in Illustrator or a print workflow explicitly requires Illustrator artwork.

How to convert AFDESIGN to AI

Using SVG for vector editability

1. Open the original .afdesign file in Affinity Designer and save a backup.
2. Choose File → Export, select SVG, and set the export area to the whole document, an artboard, or the required selection.
3. Export the SVG. Use a text option that suits the recipient: keep text as text when matching fonts are available, or convert text to curves when font substitution would be unacceptable.
4. Open the SVG in Adobe Illustrator with File → Open. Check paths, artboards, masks, gradients, transparency, text, effects, and placed images.
5. Save it with File → Save As, choose Adobe Illustrator (AI), select the required Illustrator version, and enable PDF compatibility if the recipient needs a preview or PDF-based placement workflow.

SVG is usually the better intermediary for uncomplicated vector artwork, but Affinity-specific effects, blend modes, symbols, adjustment layers, brushes, and typography may be expanded, substituted, or lost.

Using PDF for visual fidelity

1. In Affinity Designer, choose File → Export and select PDF.
2. Use the printer's requested preset; PDF/X-4 is suitable only when the printer supports that standard. Preserve vector data and retain live transparency when the workflow allows it.
3. Convert text to curves only when the recipient lacks the required fonts or specifically requests outlined type. Outlining removes text editability.
4. Open the PDF in Illustrator, inspect the artwork, and save it as an AI file with File → Save As.

PDF often gives Illustrator a closer visual result for print layouts, but Illustrator may open the artwork as grouped, fragmented, or partially editable objects rather than as the original Affinity layer structure.

When Illustrator is unavailable

Affinity Designer can export SVG, PDF, and EPS, and Inkscape can edit many SVG files, but neither application creates a fully native Illustrator AI document. Renaming .afdesign to .ai only changes the filename and does not convert the data. The dependable desktop workflow is therefore AFDESIGN → SVG or PDF → Adobe Illustrator → AI.

Reputable online services generally do not parse native AFDESIGN files reliably. Some services, including Convertio, may offer an SVG → AI conversion after Affinity Designer has exported an SVG, but the result still requires Illustrator inspection and may not preserve layers or effects. Do not upload confidential artwork, and do not use an online service unless it explicitly accepts the intermediary format and produces the required AI output.

Quality and compatibility limits

This is an interchange export, not a native-format translation. Affinity live effects, unsupported brushes, constraints, symbols, adjustment layers, variable fonts, blend modes, clipping structures, and some transparency operations can be flattened, expanded, substituted, or discarded. Linked images may remain external, while embedded images increase the AI file size; confirm the recipient's preference before exporting.

After saving the AI file, compare it with the AFDESIGN original at final output size. Verify fonts or outlined text, color mode and profiles, bleed, image resolution, clipping masks, transparency, overprint, artboards, and PDF compatibility in Illustrator or the printer's preflight software.