Who designed the Golden Arches that became McDonald's best-known symbol?

Architect Stanley Clark Meston designed the Golden Arches that became McDonald's best-known symbol.

Meston created the arches as part of the design for the McDonald brothers' new restaurant buildings in the 1950s. The early restaurants used two large yellow arches at opposite sides of the building, visible from the road and intended to attract passing motorists. The arches were architectural features before they became a logo.

The design was influenced by the roadside commercial architecture of postwar America. As McDonald's expanded through franchising, the arches offered a recognizable visual identity across different locations. Their bright color and simple shape made them particularly effective on roadside signs.

The familiar single-arch “M” developed later from the architectural idea. It is often incorrectly credited entirely to Ray Kroc, but Kroc was the company's major franchising and expansion figure, not the original architect of the arches. Meston's work supplied the visual foundation for McDonald's global branding.