What was McDonald’s first official corporate logo, used from 1948?

McDonald’s first official corporate logo, used from 1948, was the Speedee logo.

The logo showed Speedee, the company’s early chef mascot, and reflected the Speedee Service System developed by Richard and Maurice McDonald. The brothers’ system reorganized restaurant work around a limited menu, assembly-line preparation, and rapid service. The logo therefore communicated the brand’s central promise before the Golden Arches became dominant.

The Speedee logo is often confused with the Golden Arches logo. The arches appeared as architectural features at McDonald’s restaurants in the 1950s, and the combined arches emblem was adopted in 1962. The Speedee mark belongs to the earlier stage of the company’s visual identity and was gradually replaced as McDonald’s expanded.

This change illustrates how the brand moved from a mascot-led identity to a symbol-led one. Speedee represented service speed directly, while the Golden Arches became a more flexible sign that could identify restaurants, packaging, advertising, and the company itself.