The Red-and-White design concept used a red-and-white tiled exterior in McDonald's restaurants during the 1950s.
Architect Stanley Meston developed the restaurant design associated with the early McDonald's expansion. Its roadside appearance used a strong red-and-white color scheme, a pitched roof, and large golden arches that rose above the building. The design was intended to be highly visible to passing motorists and easy to recognize from a distance.
The Red-and-White design preceded later McDonald's architectural styles. The arches first functioned as physical elements of the building before the company turned them into the single M-shaped corporate logo used from 1962. This distinction explains why restaurant architecture and logo history are related but not identical.
The concept is sometimes described simply as the original McDonald's look. That wording can be misleading because restaurants changed layouts and façades as the chain expanded. “Red-and-White” specifically refers to the early architectural style and its conspicuous exterior treatment.