Which McDonald's brand element was adapted from the arches on its early restaurant buildings?

The Golden Arches logo was adapted from the arches on McDonald's early restaurant buildings.

In the 1950s, McDonald's restaurants commonly featured large yellow arches as prominent roadside architectural elements. Their purpose was practical as well as decorative: the arches helped drivers identify the restaurants from a distance.

The company later transformed the architectural motif into a graphic symbol. In 1962, the joined arches became the stylized M that customers now associate with McDonald's. This is why the logo is called the Golden Arches even when it appears without a building.

The arches are sometimes described as merely a letter M, but their historical importance comes from their architectural origin. They were not invented as a print logo first; they were developed from the restaurant design.