This document provides an overview of design patterns, including:
1) Design patterns are general solutions to common programming problems and help simplify code structure by promoting loose coupling and high cohesion.
2) Common design patterns include Strategy, Decorator, Observer, and Chain of Responsibility. Strategy defines behaviors through a common interface. Decorator adds behaviors dynamically. Observer uses publish-subscribe to broadcast events. Chain of Responsibility passes requests between handlers in a chain.
3) Design patterns derive from each other - for example, Decorator and Observer are forms of Chain of Responsibility that always run all handlers. Patterns help decrease coupling and increase cohesion in code.