Jim Schindler designed the 1962 McDonald's logo that joined the restaurant's arches into the familiar M shape.
The Golden Arches began as architectural features of McDonald's restaurants rather than as a purely graphic symbol. Early buildings used large yellow arches as prominent roadside elements, helping motorists recognize the restaurants from a distance.
In 1962, Schindler combined the two arches into a single letter-like mark. That redesign transformed a feature of restaurant architecture into a portable corporate logo that could appear on signs, packaging, advertisements, and uniforms.
The Golden Arches are sometimes credited entirely to the restaurant designers or to Ray Kroc, but those figures had different roles. Stanley Clark Meston designed the early restaurant form, while Kroc led the company's expansion. Schindler is specifically associated with the 1962 logo design.