Kartik Nagda
Let's build

I buildthings.

Designer. Builder. Founder. Writer.

I turn ideas into products, communities, experiences, and stories.

Currently building →

Diplovate
Scroll to explore ↓

I like to build before I have all the answers.

I'm Kartik — a designer, builder, founder, writer, and student exploring the intersection of technology, creativity, communities, and ideas. I enjoy taking an idea from a rough thought to something people can actually see, use, read, or experience.

Ideas are cheap. Shipping is the interesting part.

Kartik speaking at a podium

Proof, not claims

7+Projects
220+Community members
50K+Instagram views generated
3+Years building
∞Ideas

Selected work

Selected work

Things I've built, explored, designed, and shipped.

01

Diplovate

A youth-led community built around MUN, debate, writing, design, leadership, research, and collaboration.

BuildingCommunity / Youth / Leadership2025
Diplovate first screen
CommunityEventsDesignWebAmbassadors
02

Diplovate Hub

A platform concept for discovering youth events, MUNs, competitions, workshops, conferences, and opportunities.

ConceptProduct Experiment / Web2025
Diplovate Hub first screen
ReactSupabaseTailwindProduct design
03

Builds OS

A personal operating system for building projects, tracking ideas, organising execution, and turning goals into output.

ExperimentProductivity / Systems / Web2025
Experiment
ReactTypeScriptTailwindLocal-first
04

Global Innovation Conclave

One of the biggest youth skill events in Indore — convening students, future innovators, and young leaders for MUN simulations, AI discussions, and networking competitions.

BuildingEvent / Youth / Leadership2026
Global Innovation Conclave logo
EventsMUNAINetworkingYouth leadership
All projects →

The wall

Everything I'm building.

DiplovateDiplovate HubBuilds OSStatus OSFutureYou OSStudyMysticGlobal Innovation ConclaveWritingResearchDesignExperiments

Design

Design is how I think.

Design isn't making things look good. It's communication, systems, hierarchy, storytelling, branding, interfaces, and experiences.

Identity System — Branding

Identity System

Branding · 2025

Deck System — Presentations

Deck System

Presentations · 2025

Product UI Concepts — UI/UX

Product UI Concepts

UI/UX · 2026

Visual Grid Studies — Experiments

Visual Grid Studies

Experiments · 2026

Community Campaign — Social

Community Campaign

Social · 2025

Poster Series — Branding

Poster Series

Branding · 2025

Writing

I also write.

I write about building, technology, students, ambition, leadership, communities, education, and the process of creating things before you're supposed to.

Substack · 2026

Why Students Should Build Before They Graduate

Waiting for permission is the most expensive habit a student can have. A case for building while you're still figuring it out.

Read →

Medium · 2026

Ideas Are Cheap. Shipping Is The Interesting Part.

Notes on the distance between a good idea and a real thing — and why most people never cross it.

Read →

LinkedIn · 2025

What Building A Youth Community Actually Taught Me

Structure, trust, and responsibility: lessons from growing a community past 200 people.

Read →

Process

From idea → build → ship.

01 —

Think

Ideas, research, questions, problems.

02 —

Build

Design, code, prototypes, experiments.

03 —

Ship

Launch, publish, share, learn.

Build.Publish.Learn.Iterate.Build again.Build.Publish.Learn.Iterate.Build again.

Tools I use

Tools I experiment with to turn ideas into products.

HTMLCSSJavaScriptReactTailwind CSSThree.jsGSAPFirebaseSupabaseVercelNetlifyGitHubFigmaCanvaAdobeAI tools

AI is a tool. Building is the skill.

I use AI to accelerate research, prototyping, coding, writing, design exploration, brainstorming, and product development. It compresses the distance between an idea and a working version — but the judgement, the taste, and the decision to ship are still mine.

Live

Currently building

01DiplovateBuilding youth community infrastructure.
02Personal OSExperimenting with systems for productivity and growth.
03WritingPublishing ideas about students, building, technology, and ambition.
04DesignExploring visual systems and digital experiences.
05ResearchExploring youth communities and leadership.

Research

Questions worth researching.

Youth communitiesLeadership developmentDigital communitiesEducationTechnologyAIStudent entrepreneurship

Ongoing exploration

The Role of Youth-Led Digital Communities in Leadership Development Among Teenagers

Research→Survey→Data→Insight
Take the survey

Building with people.

Leadership isn't a title. It's what happens when people trust you to build something together.

Community buildingYouth leadershipEvent organisationMUNDebateTeam collaborationAmbassador programs

The lab

The lab

Unfinished ideas, prototypes, concepts, and experiments.

EXPERIMENTInteractive project wall
Floating labels, hover previews, one signature moment.
BUILDINGAI research assistant
Faster literature scanning for student research.
CONCEPTCommunity OS
Infrastructure for member-led youth communities.
SHIPPEDScroll-driven case studies
Editorial project pages that read like a magazine.
ARCHIVEDPoster generator
Type-driven poster system. Fun, not useful yet.
Enter the lab →

About

More than a portfolio.

I'm interested in the space where design, technology, communities, and ideas overlap. I like learning by building.

Sometimes that means designing a website. Sometimes it means writing an article. Sometimes it means starting a community. Sometimes it means spending days trying to turn a ridiculous idea into something that actually works.

The goal isn't to have a perfect roadmap. The goal is to keep building.

Designer

I create visual systems, interfaces, presentations, brands, and experiences.

Builder

I turn ideas into websites, products, experiments, and systems.

Founder

I build communities and projects around ideas I care about.

Writer

I publish ideas, research, observations, and lessons from building.

Build before
you're ready.

01 — Build.02 — Publish.03 — Learn.04 — Iterate.05 — Build again.

Elsewhere

LinkedInGitHubSubstackBloggerInstagramX / Twitter

Have an idea?

Let's build something interesting.

Get in touch →View my work →

7 projects · 6 places to find me