Jim Schindler designed the 1962 McDonald’s logo that joined the two Golden Arches into an M-shaped symbol.
Schindler worked for McDonald’s as a construction and design executive. His 1962 design connected the separate arch shapes used on the company’s buildings, creating the recognizable emblem associated with McDonald’s worldwide.
The arches themselves had an earlier architectural history. Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the distinctive yellow arches as physical features of the restaurant buildings in the 1950s. Schindler’s contribution was turning those architectural forms into a unified corporate logo.
The logo is sometimes credited entirely to Meston because he designed the original arches. The distinction is important: Meston created the building elements, while Schindler created the joined 1962 logo.