McDonald’s used red as the background color behind its yellow arches, creating the classic high-contrast Golden Arches mark. The combination became one of the strongest visual signatures in fast-food branding.
Yellow had already been associated with the arches because the original design was intended to stand out on restaurant buildings and roadside signs. Adding the red field made the symbol more compact and visually forceful, especially on signs, packaging, and advertising materials.
The company has used other color treatments in particular designs and markets, including minimalist versions that place the arches on different backgrounds. Nevertheless, the yellow-and-red combination remains the conventional public image. The color question concerns the background paired with the arches, not the color of the arches themselves.