Button Power

Pink background with white lettering and an ecstatic, cross-eyed button with arms.

The image on this item appears to be a smiley button personified with arms outstretched. The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball, who was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions. It is a well-known button and has become a symbol in the button industry.

Creative House Productions Inc. originated in 1964 and was a design and manufacturing company based in Chicago, Illinois. It was responsible for the creation of many promotional comic pins found in gumball machines and Cracker Jack boxes. Creative House eventually created the brand PinMart, which became the first website to sell lapel pins. PinMart eventually outgrew its parent company and bought Creative House in 2008.