How many of us have been obsessed with something before? We think about it day and night, we make decisions based on our obsession, we talk to others about it constantly, and not a minute goes by that we don't think of our particular obsession. I feel like we as people identify with people who are obsessed with something. Obsessed in the way that causes them to dive head first into whatever that obsession calls them to do. Obsession is often seen with a negative connotation, seemingly having to do with a sexual matter, or perhaps even another person. We have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) which causes people to be obsessed about things that don't matter to other people in the greater realm of society. However, I am looking at a completely different type of obsessed. I am talking about the kinda that induces devotion. That drives a person, the kinda that demands excellence of someone in that particular category. If you're obsessed with cleanliness, then vigorously clean. If you are obsessed with reading books, read until your eyes fall heavily limp in exhaustion from their repeated left to right, top to bottom cycles. Some are obsessed with a lack of clutter, and continuously they are looking for ways to minimize their collections of wares, toys, goods, and other sorts of items of which they feel only bring more distraction to their lives rather than assistance. Many out there are obsessed with the almighty dollar. This obsession can be quite confusing for some, as they tend to mask it with other obsessions. There are people who say they are workaholics, or seem to always trying to find that next get rich quick scheme. There are those who seem to always try to pinch pennies, and will scour the newspapers to find that coupon that will save them 8 cents on a can of generic brand snow peas. Though we call these people penny pinchers and bargain shoppers, they are truly people who value money so much that every moment spent delving into the periodicals looking for the deals is worth the pennies it helps them save. Yet we love people who are passionate. We love people who are so excited about something they can't help but tell you about it. People who love their car, or who love dogs, clothing brands, sports, places, foods, God, religion, philosophy, art, drinks, deserts, etc. Whatever the particular entity that may be the object of your particular over-zeal may be, we as onlookers admire your unwavering commitment. At this point you may be pondering what your particular obsession might be, or maybe you are the one who is obsessed with becoming obsessed with nothing (don't think i forgot about you now...). Well, while you mull over your particular infatuations I am going to reveal to you my own personal obsession. I am obsessed with great design and flawless typography. I am intrigued and drawn into a perfect letterform, or a beautifully laid out page spread. I savor every curve of a visually pleasing typeface and delight in the elegance of a seemingly perfect letterform. I scrutinize the color palate, and the fluidity of how they seamlessly work together in perfect harmony. As a perfect symphony is to the ears of a composer, likewise is the enchanting flow of the eyes across a delicately and meticulously created piece of artwork. My personal looking glass at which I observe these works are through the idea that details are the glue which hold together the focal points of a particular design. This is true to the core. 90 percent of people can look at an advertisement, and like it or not like it, but then not know why that is true. An understanding of how these things work, and what they are capable of conveying using their form and organization alone is astounding.Word form can convey emotion, it can take you to a place, it can communicate without defining anything. I love to stumble up on new work, and I marvel at the fact that there creativity and can exist after years of art being in existence. Yet with the bringing of new mediums and methods of communication, what was never thought possible, is now indeed possible. Many will never understand, appreciate, or care about type the way that I do. There are more out there who are overcome with glee when they cross paths with a type treatment they have never seen. My personal obsession was induced by a professor of mine which I encountered during my graphic design studies. He was my instructor for a handful or courses, as I tried to take him for every course i possibly could. Yet among these courses there was one that clearly stood head and shoulders above the rest. It was a class taught by an instructor who was some enveloped in the subject, that his entire life fell victim to the obsession he had subjected himself to earlier in life. Everything he saw from that point on was never same, and after this course, my looking glass is now properly focuses as well. My typography class literally changed the way I see life. My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy, my friends find me annoying, my comrades in school appreciated it more than some, but not like they should have. The bottom line is: I love type. What a weird obsession, and I thought it too at the beginning, but I got swooned in, and now I'm hooked. I love being surrounded in people who are passionate about something I am passionate in, I love being mentored, I love being discipled. It's an incredible experience to meet someone who knows more about something than you'll ever know, and as soon as you attain that level that they are at, They will have long and far surpassed their place as well. Sir Edward Edman, who is the man who can look at any typeface and tell you what it is in a matter of seconds. His brain has so memorized the curvatures of the letterforms at every weight imaginable that he cannot help but spew the knowledge so eagerly exploding from within him. I see type everywhere, we're surrounded in it, yet I love to tear it apart in my mind, appreciating the great, and learning from the poor renderings of some. I want the knowledge to see the more that I don't already see. I long for that. He has inspired me to be great, to reach a goal that, to most, is a goal not worth reaching. It's a strange obsession I know, but an extremely useful one at that. In a profession like mine, where your job is to communicate using art, I need letterforms to reach the untrained eye, yet stimulate the eye which can appreciate it most. Having an arsenal of knowledge in the typeface department is unfathomably useful in every situation. I wish that there were more people like me that I was familiar with, I know they're out there. I know they're out there because websites like ilovetypography.com exist. Yet where are these people? Why am I not sitting in a pub sipping a pint candidly talking about the counters in the timeless typeface helvetica, the exact geometric symmetry of Avant Garde by Herb Lubalin, the sloppy yet genius kerning and inconsistency of Gil Sans, the often illegibility of script faces, the hatred of Times Roman and Papyrus, or the oversized X-height of New Century Schoolbook?! Where are these colleagues of mine?! The uniqueness of such a strange excitement over such an obscure nature leads me only to believe that there are very few of us out there, but when we find each other, it will be a beautiful thing. I look forward to meeting you.