The arches in McDonald’s classic Golden Arches symbol are yellow.
Yellow was chosen for the arches because the bright color made McDonald’s restaurants easy to recognize, especially from roads and highways. Combined with the familiar red sign background used in the classic roadside presentation, the yellow arches became one of the most recognizable color combinations in fast-food branding.
The name “Golden Arches” refers directly to this visual treatment and to the physical arches that inspired the emblem. The logo is not simply a letter M selected from a typeface; it is a stylized version of the restaurant’s architectural arches.
Modern McDonald’s signs and digital applications may use different backgrounds or simplified treatments, but yellow remains the defining color of the arches themselves. This is why descriptions of the symbol consistently call them golden rather than red, white, or orange.