Affinity and Cavalry's Free Form Project Taps Melina K and Rob Farmer for Free-Tool Posters

Melina K and Rob Farmer each produced a poster for Free Form, a collaborative project between design platform Canva's Affinity and Cavalry, using software that is free to download. The Brisbane-based Melina K titled her textural piece "the sky made room for me," describing the "endless, open space" of the ether and a wish to convey that one can "take up space without needing to know exactly where you're going." She printed, scanned and cut elements by hand to preserve imperfections, and relied on Affinity's Live Filters and background eraser tool. Melbourne's Rob Farmer built a kinetic composition of typographic flowers inspired by spring blossoms in gardens and front yards, leaning on Cavalry's deformers and oscillator to move values without keyframing. Both designers supplied downloadable design kits — Melina K's Affinity assets include textures, bird silhouettes, patterns and editable type, while Farmer's Cavalry file allows remixing of his animated flower poster. Melina K said an open brief was "a total blessing for a creative person," and Farmer noted that free access removes the financial pressure of subscription tools. Limited-edition printed posters will be handed out at November's Nicer Tuesdays in London.