Jim Schindler designed the 1962 McDonald's logo that turned the arches into a stylized letter M.
The logo transformed the restaurant's earlier architectural arches into a compact graphic mark. That change mattered because a building feature could not appear consistently on packaging, signs, uniforms, menus, and advertising. The new form retained the visual memory of the arches while making them usable across many media.
Schindler's work is sometimes confused with Stanley Meston's earlier architectural design. Meston created the original physical arches for McDonald's restaurant buildings, whereas Schindler developed the later graphic symbol. Ray Kroc also played a major role in expanding the company, but he was not the credited designer of this logo.
The 1962 mark helped establish the Golden Arches as a shorthand for McDonald's itself. Later versions changed details such as lettering, colors, and proportions, but the two curved shapes remained central to the company's visual identity.