McDonald’s adopted the Golden Arches as its official logo in 1962, replacing the Speedee character as the brand’s primary visual symbol.
The arches originated in restaurant architecture. Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed two large yellow arches for the McDonald brothers’ San Bernardino restaurant in 1952. Viewed from an angle, the arches formed a distinctive M-like shape.
The company gradually turned the architectural feature into a graphic mark. Jim Schindler combined the two arches into the familiar logo in 1962, creating one of the world’s most recognizable corporate symbols.
A common mix-up is saying that the arches began only as a logo. They first functioned as physical roadside design elements, while the Speedee character represented McDonald’s early service system. The arches later became the central emblem of the global chain.