The modern McDonald's “M” logo first appeared in a recognizable form in 1962.
McDonald's had used yellow arches as part of its restaurant architecture before the symbol became a standardized graphic mark. In 1962, designer Jim Schindler combined the two arches into a stylized letter M for corporate identification. The design transformed a building feature into a portable logo suitable for signs, packaging, advertising, and other brand applications.
The 1962 mark was not identical in every detail to versions seen today. McDonald's refined its visual identity over subsequent decades, including changes to outlines, colors, and how the arches were presented with wordmarks. Nevertheless, 1962 is the key date associated with the recognizable Golden Arches logo.
A common mix-up is treating the opening of a particular franchise restaurant as the logo's introduction. Restaurant openings and logo development were related but separate events. The symbol grew from earlier architecture and then became a corporate sign used across the expanding chain.