Jim Schindler designed the Golden Arches logo used by McDonald's after the original restaurant arches.
Schindler worked on the company's visual identity in the early 1960s. He combined the two architectural arches into a single graphic “M,” creating a mark that could appear on signs, packaging, uniforms, and advertising rather than only on a building.
Stanley Clark Meston is often named in connection with the arches because he designed the early restaurant buildings and their large yellow structural features. Meston's architectural work supplied the visual inspiration, while Schindler's work turned that inspiration into a corporate logo.
Ray Kroc was the businessman who expanded McDonald's through franchising, not the logo designer. Louis Cheskin later advised the company on marketing and design matters, but he is not credited with creating the Golden Arches mark.