McDonald's replaced its roof-like Golden Arches logo with the familiar standalone golden “M” in 1968.
The original arches were architectural features of McDonald's restaurants, designed by architect Stanley Clark Meston in the 1950s. They were first used as paired yellow arches on the restaurant buildings and later became a recognizable part of the company's visual identity.
In 1962, designer Jim Schindler developed the interlocking-arches emblem that transformed the architectural motif into a logo. McDonald's then simplified the presentation in 1968, making the golden “M” the dominant standalone symbol rather than showing it as part of a building design.
The dates are sometimes confused because 1962 marks the creation of the interlocking logo, while 1968 marks the major change to the standalone version associated with modern McDonald's branding. The arches remain one of the world's most recognizable corporate symbols.