Jim Schindler created the familiar 1962 Golden Arches symbol from McDonald's earlier restaurant arches.
The original arches were architectural features on McDonald's buildings, designed to attract attention from the road. Schindler combined their visual form into the stylized “M” mark that became the company's corporate logo.
This distinction explains why two names appear in accounts of the Golden Arches. Stanley Clark Meston designed the original building arches in the 1950s, while Schindler adapted the idea into the logo introduced in 1962.
The arches later appeared in many colors and graphic treatments, but their basic double-arch form remained stable. They became more than a building feature: the symbol came to represent McDonald's restaurants, products, advertising, and international presence.