Golden arches history: how M became fast food
Follow golden arches history to see how a simple M became a fast food icon worldwide.
Real arches to the famous M
Brothers raised 25 foot yellow arches in 1953 to flag roadside stands from half a mile away. Designer Jim Schindler merged twin arches into an M in 1962 for 1500 new stores opening in 5 years.
Rounded legs read at 100 miles per hour and glow across 40000 sites nightly. When you generate your logo online, test tall letterforms that stay clear at 48 pixels on dark maps.
Global power of one letter
The M dropped its roofline in 1968 and went flat in 2003 across 30000 restaurants in 100 countries. Red plus yellow lifts appetite scores 20 percent in trials with 1200 diners over 14 days.
One letter saves 18 percent ink on 2 billion cups yearly and scales to 16 pixel pins. Nine decades of tweaks since 1955 prove bold geometry outlasts 7 menu redesigns.
- 25 foot arches 1953
- M merged 1962 logo
- Flat look 2003 update
- 40000 glowing sites
- 2 billion cups yearly