Who created McDonald’s interlocking “M” logo in 1962?

Jim Schindler created McDonald’s interlocking “M” logo in 1962.

Schindler combined the two yellow arches used on McDonald’s restaurant buildings into a single graphic mark. The result resembled a stylized capital “M,” while retaining the visual association customers already had with the company’s roadside architecture.

This was an important step in McDonald’s branding history because a building design became a flexible corporate identity. The mark could be reproduced at different sizes and used on signs, food packaging, uniforms, printed advertising, and later digital media.

Jim Schindler is frequently confused with Stanley Clark Meston, who was involved in designing the earlier restaurant architecture. Meston’s work supplied the physical arches; Schindler created the interlocking logo. The Golden Arches name refers to both the architectural inspiration and the resulting symbol.