Who designed the modern joined-arches McDonald's logo introduced in 1962?

Jim Schindler designed the modern joined-arches McDonald’s logo introduced in 1962. His design combined the two architectural arches used at many restaurants into the stylized golden M now associated with the company.

The arches originally had a practical architectural role. Architect Stanley Clark Meston and draftsman Charles Fish created the distinctive yellow arches for the McDonald brothers’ restaurants in the 1950s, making the buildings visible from the road. Schindler’s later logo turned that physical feature into a compact graphic mark.

The 1962 logo was a major branding transition because it moved McDonald’s identity beyond an individual restaurant design. The arches could appear on packaging, signs, advertisements, and corporate materials even when no restaurant building was visible. The Golden Arches article is sometimes cited for the architecture, while the McDonald’s article gives the broader company context.