Who designed McDonald’s 1962 interlocking arches logo?

Jim Schindler designed McDonald’s 1962 interlocking arches logo.

The logo was created when McDonald’s moved beyond using yellow arches only as architectural features. Schindler combined the two arches into a single graphic mark that resembled the letter M. This design could work on signs, packaging, paper goods, uniforms, and advertisements without requiring the full restaurant building.

The symbol’s visual power came from its simplicity. It used a bold shape and a limited color treatment that remained recognizable at different sizes. Over time, the arches became so closely associated with McDonald’s that the company name was not always needed beside them.

Schindler is often confused with Stanley Clark Meston. Meston designed the early restaurant buildings whose roadside arches inspired the mark; Schindler designed the later corporate emblem. Ray Kroc was the businessman who expanded McDonald’s franchising, but he was not the logo’s credited designer.