Stanley Meston designed the original Golden Arches used in McDonald's restaurant architecture in 1952.
Meston was an architect working with McDonald's brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald on a new restaurant design for San Bernardino, California. The brothers wanted a building that would be visible from the road, and the resulting design included two large yellow arches at either side of the building.
The arches were initially physical architectural features rather than a standalone corporate logo. Their shape later became the basis of McDonald's most recognizable symbol. A 1962 redesign by Jim Schindler transformed the two separate arches into the familiar joined M-shaped mark.
A common mix-up is crediting Ray Kroc with designing the arches. Kroc expanded McDonald's nationally, but Meston created the architectural arches, while Schindler developed the later logo form.