Being a contract or freelance web designer, graphic designer, or other web consultant definitely has its ups and downs. If your work is top-notch, well-appointed … if your networking skills are advanced … and if you have a high level of patience and the ability to focus, then you, my friend, may be a freelancer. But ask yourself this: Do the pros outweigh the cons? Let’s take a look, and you can make the decision for yourself.

The idea that a good website requires quality web design seems like a consensus, right? When planning a new website, the design aspect is usually more than important – it’s essential. Companies spend a fortune on web design, and web designers are the new lawyers – every mother in law wants one.

It’s Spring Break 2010 and the DesignOra team is livin’ it up! We will return to our normal publishing schedule next week, promise … and when we come back, we’ll have a special treat for all of you, so be sure to stay tuned in.

Need your design fix now? Take a look at our 10 most popular published articles and get inspired.

Until then, Happy Passover, Easter, and fun times to all of our valued readers.

Here are over sixty of the best articles and showcases that have been published by design websites. They represent the design of photography, fonts and typography, graphics, icons, various web design freebies, and web design inspiration.

Earlier this month, Google that it purchased online photo editing tool Picnick. What does that mean for Picasa users? To soon to tell. It does mean that the big players are acknowledging the fact the photo editing is no longer in the hands of pro’s or in the hands of those who bother to pay for their own Photoshop. Actually, Adobe already acknowledged this fact when it released their own online photo editing tool, Photoshop.com, in September, 2008.

Join us as we take a trip around the world of design: Next stop, Turkey. The country that connects Europe and Asia with a strip of land along the Eastern Mediterranean Sea is one of extensive history and always has found its mark in the world of art history. In this day, the innovation and creativity can still be seen in some beautiful examples of Turkish made graphics and illustrations.

FaceBook Games can make even the strongest in the ways of the web run in fear. Yet for some reason your girlfriend mom and little brother can’t get enough of them. Fan art is the greatest expression of a player love for the games and in this case, all the more reason to scream in terror and run like hell.

We are in one of the most joyous times of year. Spring is slowly sneaking upon those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and we get ready for the celebration of some fantastic holiday celebrations.

This year, March 1st is a colorful day as the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and other natives of South Central Asia rejoice in the holy day of Holi, first mentioned in an ancient Sanskrit script. While the origins of Holi vary, the implementation of throwing beautiful, vibrant colors on one another stems from the always playful and mischievous Lord Krishna.

When you place your own name on a product or service, it is something you should take great pride in just as Mr. Toyoda does. Today we would like to share with you a timeline of Toyota ads, from vintage to present day. Cars have certainly come along way since 1885 when Karl Friedrich Benz built the first gasoline automobile. Car manufacturers have come and gone. Toyoda, renamed Toyota in 1937, has been one of the world’s top producers for automobiles. From their Model AA introduced in 1936 to the present day where technology brought electric cars to the streets, Toyota had astonishing growth.

Cars, they all begin on a designers notepad and spring from design inspired minds. Some of the most amazing vehicles may never see the light of day but the concepts and artwork can. Most people have a ‘dream car’ many are obsessed and all there dreams are about them. Some rare automotive designs though, can truly be said to be any mans dream.

Inspired from the world of car designers and concept creators. Presenting the most amazing dream machines we may never see. Unless of course we are asleep and if these are the thoughts in our slumber, rest may become a race. High speed and sexy curves are contained best when we hit the street in the seat of a well designed machine. So start your engine and rev it up because these dream rides are definitely designed to get your motor going.