Font art geekery

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I love fonts. I love the subtlety of font variation and how it affects the mood of what you're expressing. My work in photoshop has cultivated this, as I studied the fonts of dozens of Disneyland signs, tried to find similar ones online, and noticed the minute differences. In some cases I had to chop up letters and make new ones with the pieces.

I just saw this and I'm wondering if anyone else here is as captivated as I am by it. I mean, look at the MindShare one. You've got your purple swirly bits. But the transition to the block, all-caps block font is so grounding and strong, I feel happier about the company just looking at the new logo (and I don't even know what they do).

Notice that many of the new ones have rounded edges, and the widths of the individual lines remain the same throughout the curves of the letter, giving them a 2 dimensional, warm appearance. Xerox is a good example. In the old logo, see how the lines are thinner in some places, and how the new one is completely different? There's something so stable and friendly in this fad in fonts.

I've never tried to make my own but I'm getting interested...though, as with my photoshop projects, I'd probably just modify one already done, or recreate an expensive one (like Gotham, the Obama font....*drool*).

I feel like I need to pick up a book on the topic or join a font geek board somewhere. Anyone have any insight into this stuff, or just have an appreciation for typography?