I am not concerned about what is "the right way" as much as what are the more sucessfull ways. Currently, I am lacking any formal tools on software design and would like to add some to my toolbox.

Unfortunately, it is really hard to find any refrences that give an overview of the different design philosophies and methodologies. You almost have to pick a buzzword and learn it. However, I dont want to waste my time learning about a million different design models that I probably will never use since I dont work as a programmer and am not developing for a customer (I am the customer) and dont work with a team of other programmers.