The study of ontology design patterns (ODPs) is a fairly recent development. Such patterns simplify ontology development by codifying and reusing known best practices, thus lowering the barrier to entry of ontology engineering. However, while ODPs appear to be a promising addition to research and while such patterns are being presented and used, work on patterns as artifacts of their own, i.e. methods of developing, identifying and evaluating them, is still uncommon. Consequently, little is known about what ODP features or characteristics are beneficial or harmful in different ontology engineering situations. The presented PhD project aims to remedy this by studying ODP quality characteris- tics and what impact these characteristics have on the usability of ODPs themselves and on the suitability of the resulting ontologies.