I pretty much only use GridBagLayout for production code unless the GUI is so simple that I can get away with a BorderLayout. I sometimes look into other LayoutManagers, but never really found the need to change since GridBagLayout can do pretty much anything I need.
The installer I use for my own stuff is izPack and works for me so far.
It has been a long time since I really read any Swing books now. Obviously the Java Swing one from O'Reilly is the de facto bible :)
When it comes to books on design I do have a lot of recommendations but that might be off topic?
