Zend has three new articles in their Design section of their articles on their site today:

• Mature Design Theory in Web Development - Web developer Sherri Wheeler explains why PHP applications need design
• PHP 5 and Design Patterns: An Introduction - In this article, Matt introduces the concept of design patterns and explains why they are useful in PHP 5
• PHP 5 and Design Patterns: The Observer - Matt's design pattern series opens with a description of the Observer pattern - how to recognize it, and where to use it

I like the fact that more and more people are looking into the design patterns in PHP (even writing books about them), but I hope that it doesn't become the latest fad among developers and people just start using them for the heck of it ("Lookitme! I used a pattern! Go me!"). As long as they are used as what they're intended for, it'll be smooth sailing, though. Patterns can really help your structure and organize your app, and make it that much easier to expand it later on...