The Golden Arches logo was inspired by the large yellow arches built into McDonald's restaurants in the 1950s.
Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the original streamlined McDonald's restaurant buildings for Dick and Mac McDonald. Their plans included two tall, curved yellow arches on opposite sides of the building. The arches were visible from the road and helped the restaurants stand out in the emerging drive-in market.
The architectural arches came before the familiar two-dimensional logo. In the early 1960s, Jim Schindler combined the arches into an interlocking symbol, creating the form that became the central mark of McDonald's corporate identity. The design was simplified over time for signs, packaging, uniforms, and advertising.
A common mix-up is to treat the Golden Arches as a symbol invented independently of the buildings. Their first role was practical and architectural: they were conspicuous roadside features. Their later role became symbolic, representing the McDonald's name even when no restaurant building was visible.