The restaurant design featuring two tall yellow arches was called the Golden Arches.
The arches were architectural elements placed at opposite sides of early McDonald’s buildings. Their height and bright color made the restaurants easy to identify from roads, especially during the era when roadside visibility was central to fast-food branding.
The concept is associated with architect Stanley Clark Meston, who designed the streamlined restaurant buildings used by McDonald’s in the 1950s. The arches were initially part of the building rather than merely a printed logo.
In 1962, McDonald’s converted the architectural idea into a stylized corporate emblem. That mark joined the two arches visually into the familiar “M.” The Golden Arches should not be confused with the Speedee Service System, which described the restaurant’s operating method rather than its building design.