Stickey

Stickey on Android: one word a day, a jar that fills up, and a full dictionary that works offline.
Spaced review: "I knew it" pushes a word days or weeks out, "Still learning" brings it back tomorrow.
Look up any word, even in airplane mode. Pronunciation, senses and real examples, all stored on the phone.
Finish a round to see what stuck, then keep your daily streak going.
Unframed screenshot, 1179×2556: a review card.
Onboarding calibration: flip a few cards and answer honestly, so your first deck skips words you already know.
Every day starts with a Word of the Day. One tap adds it to your jar, then today's review deck is ready.
Themed jars with Stickey Pro: SAT, LSAT and Tech vocabulary, most-asked words first, about 8 minutes a day.
Unframed screenshot, 1179×2556: the Today screen.
Achievements for milestones, from your first word to a thousand review cards.
Android home screen widget: today's word without opening the app.
Stickey app icon, 1024×1024 uncropped.

Inspiration

Stickey started with a familiar frustration: discovering a great word, wanting to remember it, and forgetting it just when you need it.

For avid readers, that means losing words they wanted to keep. For people who love expressing themselves, it means reaching for the perfect word and coming up empty. We wanted a dictionary that remembered our learning journey: the words we discovered, the ones we collected, and the ones we still needed to practice.

What it does

Stickey turns vocabulary building into a personal, daily habit. You can discover words, collect them in your own word jars, and test yourself to help them stick.

We built a dictionary exclusively for Stickey, with over 300,000 words, alongside an algorithm that selects words of the day suited to your vocabulary level. Our ambition was simple: a dictionary that feels like it was made for you, fitting like a glove and growing with your curiosity.

How we built it

We built Stickey using Flutter, with Rails and PostgreSQL powering the backend and OneSignal handling notifications. We used Rive to bring parts of the experience to life through animation.

But building Stickey also meant creating its world. We spent days refining our bear mascot and developing a cohesive identity around him, word tiles, honey, and bees. We wanted the design, motion, and sound to make learning feel welcoming and give people a reason to return.

Challenges we ran into

Our toughest challenge was connecting everything into a cohesive brand and a journey people would enjoy. A dictionary can hold thousands of words, but making someone curious enough to explore them takes more than a search bar.

We also had to answer difficult editorial and product questions: Which words belong in our dictionary, and why? What makes a word worth recommending today? How do we match words to someone’s level? And how do we introduce the experience through onboarding without overwhelming them?

These decisions shaped both the dictionary and the experience around it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building the Stickey universe. We created more than a dictionary: we gave Stickey a personality and a world of bears, bees, honey, and word tiles that makes discovering words feel welcoming and playful.

Keeping your vocabulary with you. We enabled syncing between phones so users can continue their learning journey and access their word collections across devices.

Creating something we want to keep using. We brought the design, animations, and learning experience together into a cohesive product we’re proud of, and one we plan to use long after the competition ends.

What we learned

We learned about sound design, animation with Rive, and notifications through our first experience with OneSignal. We also explored the philosophy behind a good dictionary: what it includes, how it explains meaning, and how it serves the person using it.

Above all, we learned that helping people build their vocabulary takes more than giving them definitions. It takes thoughtful selection, opportunities to practice, and an experience that makes returning feel worthwhile.

What's next for Stickey

More paid courses. Expand our course library with guided ways to grow your vocabulary and deepen your knowledge.

A desktop app. Bring Stickey to the desktop so you can discover, collect, and revisit words while reading, writing, or working.

Plans for schools and educational institutions. Offer plans that bring Stickey into classrooms and help more students build a lasting vocabulary habit.