Fani Kiran Vulapalli

Graphic designers aren't programmers and sometimes don't know how to properly prepare graphic assets for developers. This simple cheatsheet should help them to do their job better, and to simplify developers' lives. Dimensions Screen densities and icon dimensions Qualifier DPI Scaling factor Launcher icon Action bar, tab icon Notification icon (API 11) Notification icon (API 9) Notification icon (older) ldpi 120 0.75 36 x 36 32 x 32 24 x 24 18 x 18 18 x 18 16 x 16 12 x 19 12 x 12 19 x 19 16 x 16 mdpi 160 1.0 48 x 48 42 x 42 32 x 32 24 x 24 24 x 24 22 x 22 16 x 25 16 x 16 25 x 25 21 x 21 hdpi 240 1.5 72 x 72 64 x 64 48 x 48 36 x 36 36 x 36 33 x 33 24 x 38 24 x 24 38 x 38 32 x 32 xhdpi 320 2.0 96 x 96 84 x 84 64 x 64 48 x 48 48 x 48 44 x 44 32 x 50 32 x 32 50 x 50 42 x 42 xxhdpi 480 3.0 144 x 144 126 x 126 96 x 96 72 x 72 72 x 72 66 x 66 48 x 75 48 x 48 75 x 75 63 x 63 Notice: the first icon dimension in table cell is full asset size, the second icon dim...

6 ways to help your remote workers feel at home Work is no longer a place. Thanks to innovations in technology, and the help of forward thinking companies, geography no longer limits your job opportunities. But with the increasing popularity of remote workers comes a shifting definition of the workplace and its relationship to the worker. We are now in the era of the cult of overwork—a result of how easy it is to reach workers at all hours of the day on their smartphones or tablets. And without the boundaries of office hours or the comfort of knowing your boss sees you physically at work, it’s hard to tell when the workday ends and your personal life begins. In the cult of overwork it’s easy to feel like you’re always on—like you should be ready to jump into a task at a moment’s notice—something that quickly becomes stressful and can easily ruin the morale of your team. When you work face-to-face, it’s easy to create a sense of belonging among workers: you share in jokes, h...

As a writer, I get to share a lot of my work. It’s pretty rare for me to have a piece that doesn’t end up getting published anywhere. But as a new iOS developer, I’m in a very different situation. Suddenly I’m sharing a lot less of what I’m working on. My apps look like rubbish most of the time. They don’t do much, and my code is mostly a mess. I know my work has a long way to go before it’s good, but in the meantime I don’t have much to share. Does it matter? I think it does. Sharing your work can make a huge difference to how people perceive you, how well you connect with people, and even how much money you make when you capitalize on the audience you’ve built up. “Become a documentarian of what you do.” Austin Kleon There are a few distinct reasons I’m having trouble sharing my work these days, despite knowing it’s a worthwhile exercise. The first is that I’m new to development entirely, so I’m struggling to find anything useful to share. The second is what I mentioned ea...

When I first started working remotely I struggled with communication. Since I wasn’t in the office every day, I couldn’t just stroll up to my coworker’s desk and run an idea or question by them. Instead of face-to-face conversations, I was having chats over Slack and Skype, using emojis to try to translate some semblance of emotion. I remember one specific instance when I reached out to a coworker for help. My initial question was peppered with smiley faces and words like 'howdy' to convey a sense of playfulness. I was greeted with short, one-word answers that jumped straight to the point. While I tried not to read too far into the answers, it was hard not to. Here I was in my first remote work environment trying to connect with coworkers and instead I almost felt like a nuisance. Definitely not the way I wanted to come across. A little over a year later, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered remote communication, but I have become much more comfortable building relationships...

If you stop by the Patagonia office during lunch you would be more likely to see employees grabbing surfboards and heading to the ocean rather than into a conference room. While that seems like unusual activity for a company that earned $600 million in 2013 it’s all part of an effort to encourage work-life balance at the company. In some circles, the idea of fun in the workplace seems almost contradictory. But, Patagonia and other leading companies like IDEO have demonstrated how emphasizing fun at work can increase productivity, decrease employee turnover, and inspire new products. Why Have Fun in the First Place? It seems like a no-brainer right? Playing was fun when you were a kid. You probably still have a great time playing as an adult. So, why don’t you do it more often? Amidst work, social commitments, childcare, bills, home improvement projects, and the like, finding time to cut loose can be challenging. Research indicates this lack of playtime is detrimental for a...

I read a story recently about two developers. Both had roughly the same expertise and learned at about the same rate. As they improved their skills, one of the developers shared everything he learned on a blog. The blog soon became so popular that he grew a huge audience and raised thousands of dollars in a related Kickstarter campaign. The other developer, having shared nothing he learned, had barely an audience to speak of. What I love about this story is that the developer who didn't share what he learned thought little of the other developer's blog. For him, the blog posts were useless, because it didn't teach him anything he didn't already know. What he failed to realise was that a huge number of people didn't know all those things yet. The first developer took advantage of the fact that there's always someone who doesn't know as much as you. If you know something—and I know you do—you should be sharing what you know right now. Not convinced? H...

As chief HR officer for a professional services company, I’m focused on providing our clients the talent they need when and where they need it. Doing this means I often spend time analyzing key data -- from chargeability and payroll costs to talent supply/demand forecasting and retention. Then there’s a metric many might be surprised to learn I also keep a close eye on: vacation time used. Why? Certainly, a company’s balance sheet can benefit from employees using their paid time off. But to me, the advantages lie in innovation and productivity. I’ve been giving this some thought as I prepare to head on my vacation this week. There is no shortage of research that shows the strong correlation between downtime, creativity and productivity. When the brain takes a prolonged rest, creativity goes up – enabling fresh ideas, better and faster problem solving and ultimately, increased efficiency and productivity. I emphasize prolonged rest because the length of time away from work matter...