McDonald’s turned its two separate restaurant arches into the single “M” logo in 1962.
The original Golden Arches were architectural features on opposite sides of some restaurant buildings. As the chain grew, the arches were combined into a graphic mark that resembled the letter M. Jim Schindler, a McDonald’s engineer and designer, is credited with creating the combined logo.
The change helped convert a building feature into a portable corporate identity. The symbol could appear on signs, packaging, advertisements, and other materials even when a restaurant did not visibly use the original architectural form.
The arches had already become associated with McDonald’s during the 1950s, but the 1962 redesign gave the company the recognizable double-arched emblem used in modern branding. The logo has undergone later refinements, including changes to type, colors, and surrounding layouts, while retaining the central arches.