McDonald's adopted the Golden Arches as its corporate logo in 1962.
The arches had first appeared as architectural features on individual restaurants, beginning with a design developed for a McDonald's location in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1953. The original buildings used two separate yellow arches, one on each side of the structure. From certain angles, those arches formed an M-like silhouette.
In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the two arches into the recognizable golden M used as the company's main symbol. This change turned an architectural feature into a nationally recognizable brand mark. The logo was later simplified and paired with different background colors and wordmarks, but the arches remained central to McDonald's identity.
A common mix-up is treating 1953 as the logo's adoption year. That date relates to the early restaurant architecture; 1962 is the key year for the corporate Golden Arches logo.