The double arches became McDonald’s visual symbol known as the “Golden Arches.”
The arches first appeared as large architectural features on McDonald’s restaurant buildings during the 1950s. Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the early restaurant structures, including the distinctive yellow arches intended to attract motorists from a distance. Their shape was later combined into the stylized logo associated with McDonald’s.
The Golden Arches name refers to the arches’ golden-yellow color and their distinctive form. It is not the name of a particular restaurant, sandwich, or mascot. The symbol gradually became more important than the original building design as McDonald’s expanded and standardized its visual identity.
In 1962, the separate architectural idea was adapted into the familiar double-arch logo. Later versions changed the surrounding typography and color treatment, but the two arches remained the central branding element recognized worldwide.