Who designed the stylized Golden Arches logo used by McDonald’s?

Jim Schindler designed the stylized Golden Arches logo used by McDonald’s.

Schindler was a McDonald’s construction and design executive associated with adapting the restaurant’s physical arches into a unified graphic mark. The resulting M-shaped symbol appeared in the early 1960s and gave the company a consistent identity beyond individual restaurant buildings.

Stanley Clark Meston is often credited with the earlier restaurant architecture, which is why the two names can be confused. Meston designed the distinctive building form; Schindler helped convert its arches into the corporate symbol.

That distinction reflects a broader change in McDonald’s branding. The arches started as a roadside sign and architectural device, then became a compact logo that could appear on packaging, advertisements, uniforms, and signage worldwide.