It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost nine years since Adobe announced their switch from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud. Out with perpetual licenses, installation discs, and serial numbers, and in with all-you-can-eat, one-size-fits-most, subscription software. I wonder if young graphic designers who’ve only known Creative Cloud can really appreciate what it was like to pick and choose which versions to buy and which to skip. If we didn’t need the latest bells and whistles we could keep using what we had for years without paying another cent to Adobe or anyone else. Upgrading was a much more deliberate decision. To put it bluntly, new features had to be compelling enough to convince us to reach into our wallets and fork over the cash. Now, it’s very different. Things just happen. Our credit cards are automatically charged, new programs and versions appear at our fingertips, ready to be installed. It’s all so frictionless that it’s very easy to just go along for the ride.

But, not everyone is happy with where the ride has taken us. For those folks (and for anyone who’s simply curious), I’m here to offer some alternatives. In this month’s feature article, I lay out the details of several non-subscription replacements for Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Some are old standbys. Others are relative newcomers. All are worth your consideration. As a follow-up, Colleen Gratzer takes a deeper look at InDesign’s newest rival, Affinity Publisher.

Then, we return to our typical Adobe-flavored fare, as Ari Weinstein cooks up some Illustrator automation with actions. Jamie McKee offers advice for harnessing the power of metadata. And Jeff Carlson shows how to capture raw images on an iPhone.

We also have a set of articles curated from CreativePro.com packed with how-to content on InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, plus some writing tips that just might help you land your next job.

Enjoy!