About Kandi Pad

Hey there! I'm Derek, the creator of Kandi Pad. It all started with a love for music, the infectious energy of the PLUR community, and a desire to create my own kandi. My first festival experiences left me in awe of all the amazing kandi art, and I knew I wanted to get involved. But finding a straightforward way to design my own patterns seemed non-existent.

Being a web developer by trade, I naturally turned to Photoshop to create a couple of my own designs. But even then, I couldn't help but feel like there had to be a better way! And that's how Kandi Pad was born.

From Personal Project to Public Platform

The very first version of the website, back in the day, was named Perler Pad and existed solely for my personal use. It was a simple pixel art maker, nothing more. However, after a while, I noticed some unexpected traffic and even new patterns being created with this basic editor by users other than myself. This sparked the idea of making creating and sharing kandi patterns easier for everyone.

And so, Kandi Pad v2 was launched, featuring a login system and a gallery for sharing creations. Fast forward to February of 2023, and Kandi Pad v3 arrived, bringing a significant upgrade to the editor, a cleaner user interface, and a focus on building a strong social community through features like user profiles.

With the launch of Kandi Pad v4 in late July 2024, I made the platform even more accessible by removing paywalls and adding a ton of new features like enhanced search and gallery filters, upgraded editor functionality, and pattern & user highlights.

The current version of site, KPv5, launched in April of 2025.

My Mission: Building the Best Kandi Platform

My goal is simple: to create the most feature-rich, accessible, and social kandi pattern creation and discovery platform available.

While Kandi Pad is not my full-time job, I do my best to make myself available and work on it as often as possible to keep improving the platform. I do develop the site entirely by myself and I welcome all constructive feedback or ideas to make Kandi Pad the best it can be! Kandi Pad is a true passion project for me, and I'm dedicated to fostering a welcoming and creative space for all kandi enthusiasts.

The Kandi Pad Team

The Kandi Pad team got a big upgrade in September 2025 with the addition of Paige (@chilipper)! She's a staple in the Kandi Pad community, a kandi pattern wizard in her own right, and the friendly face behind the Kandi Pad Discord. Paige has stepped up to help foster our social space and share her creative expertise.

Meet the full Kandi Pad Team Here, including our Site Moderators and Pattern Quality Controllers!

Join the Kandi Pad Community!

We invite you to explore all that Kandi Pad has to offer, create your own unique kandi masterpieces, and connect with other passionate kandi creators! And always keep it PLUR!