Which McDonald’s symbol was adapted from two restaurant arches into an M-shaped logo?

The Golden Arches were adapted from two restaurant arches into McDonald’s M-shaped logo.

The original McDonald’s restaurant buildings used large yellow arches as prominent architectural features. They were designed to attract the attention of passing motorists and make the restaurants easy to identify from the road. The arches therefore functioned as branding before they became a formal logo.

In 1962, the two arches were combined into a stylized M. This change allowed the visual identity to work on signs, packaging, advertisements, and other materials that did not include the full restaurant building. The resulting mark became known as the Golden Arches.

The Golden Arches are sometimes described as simply a letter M, but their historical significance comes from their architectural origin. They connect McDonald’s modern corporate identity to the design of the early drive-in restaurants and remain one of the most recognizable symbols in commercial history.