Red and yellow dominated McDonald’s classic restaurant branding before many modern minimalist redesigns.
The colors appeared prominently in the Golden Arches, roadside signs, restaurant exteriors, packaging, uniforms, and advertising. Their strong contrast made the brand easy to identify from a distance, which was especially valuable for roadside restaurants and drive-through locations.
McDonald’s later introduced more varied architectural palettes and natural materials in many markets, including darker tones, wood, and green. Those changes altered the appearance of individual restaurants without eliminating the Golden Arches as the central identity.
Color descriptions can vary by era and country, but “red and yellow” is the standard shorthand for the classic McDonald’s visual system. The answer refers to the dominant brand pairing, not every color ever used by the company.