McDonald's adopted “Look for the Golden Arches” in 1960 as an early slogan linking its restaurants to the distinctive arch design.
The Golden Arches began as architectural features on McDonald's restaurants. Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the original pair of yellow arches for the restaurant opened in Downey, California, in 1953. The arches were intended to make the building visible from the road and give it a recognizable shape.
By 1960, the arches had become more than building decoration. McDonald's used them in national advertising and branding, encouraging motorists to recognize the symbol before they saw the restaurant name. The phrase helped turn a local architectural feature into a national trademark.
A common mix-up is assuming the familiar single golden “M” logo existed from the beginning. The modern overlapping-arches symbol developed later, while early restaurants often displayed two separate arches as part of the building design.