McDonald’s began using its famous Golden Arches as a unified logo in 1962.
Before 1962, the arches were primarily part of the restaurant buildings themselves. The early McDonald’s design used two large yellow arches rising over the roofline, making the restaurants visible from nearby roads. The company later combined those forms into the stylized M associated with its brand.
Jim Schindler is credited with creating the unified logo. The arches were not originally conceived as a modern abstract logo; they developed from the roadside architecture of McDonald’s early locations.
1968 is another important date often confused with 1962. That was the year a further logo version, including the arches in a more standardized corporate presentation, became associated with the chain. The underlying Golden Arches concept, however, dates to 1962.