MVB Solano Gothic was originally designed as a display face for the City of Albany. Named for the city’s main street, the typeface needed to work on signage in proximity to early 20th-century buildings, as well as in contemporary settings. Mark van Bronkhorst’s design is a strong, condensed sans serif that references pre-digital letters of all sorts, from metal architectural lettering to hand-painted signs. The style is not overtly retro, however. It sits comfortably on contemporary-styled web pages, and the straight-sided forms are especially well-suited for the pixel screen where MVB Solano Gothic is recommended for use at sizes 14px and up. MVB Fonts, 2007-2014