Jim Schindler created McDonald's first widely used corporate logo from the restaurant's Golden Arches.
Schindler simplified the architectural arches into a graphic symbol that resembled an “M.” This work helped McDonald's move from a building-based visual feature to a corporate mark that could appear consistently on signs, packaging, stationery, and advertising. The logo is associated with the 1962 development of the Golden Arches symbol.
The architectural arches themselves were designed earlier by Stanley Clark Meston, with drafting assistance from Charles Fish. That is why the two names are often confused. Meston designed the physical restaurant feature; Schindler adapted the idea into the recognizable logo form.
The logo's importance was not merely decorative. A simplified mark could be seen quickly from roads and reproduced at different sizes, supporting franchising and national expansion. Later wordmarks and design updates changed the surrounding presentation, but the paired arches remained the core identifier.