Who designed the 1962 McDonald’s Golden Arches logo as a single overlapping symbol?

Jim Schindler designed the 1962 McDonald’s Golden Arches logo as a single overlapping symbol.

Schindler was McDonald’s head of construction and engineering. He adapted the restaurant’s two physical yellow arches into a unified graphic mark, creating the recognizable golden M associated with the company. The logo was an important step in moving McDonald’s branding from architecture to a portable corporate identity.

The original arches had been developed for restaurant buildings, particularly the early drive-in format. The 1962 design kept their basic curved forms but joined them visually, allowing the symbol to appear on signs, packaging, stationery, and advertising. It therefore worked even when no distinctive building was visible.

Stanley Clark Meston is often connected with the arches because he designed the early restaurant architecture, while Ray Kroc is associated with McDonald’s expansion. Neither designed this specific logo. The distinction between the building architect and the logo designer is central to the symbol’s history.