What McDonald’s brand mark uses a red rectangle with a yellow “M”?

The Golden Arches logo is the McDonald’s brand mark that uses a red rectangle with a yellow “M.”

The symbol developed from the yellow arches built into early McDonald’s restaurant architecture. By joining the two arches visually, the company created a stylized M that could work on roadside signs, packaging, uniforms, and advertising. The red-and-yellow treatment became one of the most recognizable combinations in fast-food branding.

McDonald’s has used several logo arrangements, including versions with the company name and versions showing the arches by themselves. Colors and surrounding shapes have changed across periods and markets, but the arches remain the central identifying element.

The mark is called the Golden Arches because of the yellow arch shapes, not because the restaurants originally used a gold-colored metal logo. Its history begins with architecture and continues through successive graphic identities.