Lucky Charm

App Icon
App Banner
Home Screen
Charm Gallery
Settings
Charm in action

Inspiration

Lucky Charm was inspired by the idea of keeping a small symbol of positivity, protection, and good fortune close to you.

People around the world use different charms and symbols as reminders of hope, tradition, and positive energy. Lucky Charm brings that idea into a digital experience, allowing users to carry meaningful symbols with them on their phones.

What it does

Lucky Charm is a digital collection of lucky and meaningful symbols from different cultures and traditions.

Users can:

Explore different lucky charms
Select their favorite charm
View beautiful animated charms
Keep a charm floating over other apps
Customize the floating charm position
Enjoy gentle animations and interactions
Discover the meaning and tradition behind each charm
Use the app completely offline for core features

The collection includes charms such as:

Nimbu-Mirchi
Drishti Bommai
Maneki-neko
Dreamcatcher
Evil Eye
Om
Murugan Vel
Trishula
Shiva Lingam
Hamsa
Crucifix
Crescent & Star
Temple Bell

How we built it

Lucky Charm was built as a native Android application using modern Android technologies.

Technology Stack

Kotlin
Jetpack Compose
Material 3
MVVM Architecture
StateFlow
DataStore
Android Foreground Service
Native Android Overlay APIs
Google Play Billing
Local bundled assets
Offline-first architecture

The floating charm feature uses Android's native overlay capabilities, allowing users to keep their selected charm visible while using other applications.

The app stores user preferences locally and uses localized Google Play pricing for the Lifetime Ad-Free purchase.

Challenges We Ran Into

One of the biggest challenges was implementing a reliable floating charm experience while following Android's background execution and overlay restrictions.

Other challenges included:

Managing overlay permissions
Handling foreground services correctly
Supporting different screen sizes and aspect ratios
Making the floating charm responsive to touch
Maintaining smooth animations
Handling permission revocation
Managing battery and background limitations
Implementing one-time Google Play purchases
Supporting localized pricing
Creating consistent visual styles across different charms
Representing cultural and traditional symbols respectfully

Accomplishments That We're Proud Of

We are proud to have built a complete native Android experience around a simple idea.

Some highlights include:

Created a collection of unique digital lucky charms
Built animated hanging-style charm experiences
Added a floating charm that can remain visible over other apps
Added customizable floating positions
Built the core experience with an offline-first approach
Added a Lifetime Ad-Free purchase
Created consistent 3D-style visual assets
Combined traditional symbols with a modern mobile experience
Built the application using modern Android development practices

What We Learned

Building Lucky Charm helped us learn and experiment with several areas of Android development.

We gained practical experience with:

Android overlay APIs
Foreground services
Jetpack Compose animations
State management with StateFlow
DataStore persistence
Responsive UI design
Google Play Billing
Localized pricing
Android permissions and background restrictions
Creating interactive digital experiences
Designing culturally inspired visual content respectfully

What's Next for Lucky Charm

The current version is just the beginning.

Future improvements could include:

More lucky charms from around the world
Additional animation styles
Custom charm themes
Daily lucky messages and affirmations
More floating charm customization
Home screen widgets
Sound and haptic feedback
Charm collections and favorites
Accessibility improvements
Multiple language support
User-requested charms
More personalization options

Vision

Our goal is to make Lucky Charm a small, positive digital companion that users can carry with them every day.

Instead of being just another utility, we want the app to provide a simple moment of positivity through meaningful symbols, beautiful animations, and cultural traditions from around the world.