Which designer created McDonald’s familiar overlapping-arches logo in 1962?

Jim Schindler created McDonald’s familiar overlapping-arches logo in 1962.

McDonald’s Golden Arches originally belonged to the physical design of its restaurants. Architect Stanley Clark Meston had developed the arches as prominent yellow structures on early buildings. As the chain grew, McDonald’s needed a symbol that could work beyond architecture and identify the business across many kinds of media.

Schindler adapted the two separate arches into a single, stylized “M.” The resulting mark retained the visual shape of the buildings while making the arches function as a compact corporate logo. It became a central element of McDonald’s identity and eventually one of the world’s most recognized commercial symbols.

The designer is sometimes confused with Meston because both contributed to the arches’ history. Meston designed the architectural features; Schindler created the logo adaptation. Ray Kroc was the company’s major expansion figure, but he was not the logo designer.