Who designed the McDonald’s 1962 Golden Arches logo featuring a diagonal line?

Jim Schindler designed the McDonald’s 1962 Golden Arches logo featuring a diagonal line.

Schindler’s design joined the two yellow architectural arches into the stylized “M” associated with McDonald’s. A diagonal line was included in the early version, reflecting an attempt to make the combined arches read clearly as a distinctive emblem.

The logo was introduced during the company’s rapid expansion under Ray Kroc. Consistent visual branding helped customers identify franchised restaurants as part of the same growing chain, even when the surrounding buildings and communities differed.

The logo’s later forms became simpler and more standardized, so the diagonal element is not always remembered when people look at modern McDonald’s signs. The designer is also sometimes confused with the architects responsible for early restaurant structures, who had different roles in the company’s visual history.