The yellow arches that became McDonald's central visual symbol are called the Golden Arches.
The arches originated in the architecture of early McDonald's restaurants. Richard and Maurice McDonald used large, eye-catching arches in the restaurant design, helping motorists recognize the buildings from the road. The shape eventually became more important as a corporate mark than as a structural feature.
The Golden Arches are often mistaken for a symbol that was designed from the beginning as the familiar letter M. In fact, the mark developed from restaurant architecture and was later combined into the recognizable double-arch emblem. It became one of the world's most widely recognized corporate symbols, linking the restaurant name with a simple, memorable visual form.