I read this recently from type-ed.com, and thought it was really interesting! It explains why typography in logo design is so important.
Research shows that to a large degree, we read the full shape of the word rather than letter-by-letter. How we read is based on our reading experience, of course, but once we are used to seeing a word, we recognize the word based on its shape (this is why logo marks are so powerful).
Try reading this:
It deosn’t mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
Fun, right? You should have been able to read that, although maybe a bit slower than usual. You’ll notice the first and last letter are key, we recognize the essential elements and then our brains fill in the missing information.