Black illustration of smiley face on yellow background.

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. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However, his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

White text over black line with yellow smiley illustration to the right. Below, yellow text, all on a purple background.

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Image of orange no sign with blue text over illustration of tan gopher wearing M cap on white background.   

The Fighting Illini refer to the Big 10 football or basketball teams of the University of Illinois. Their opponent for this match is the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. The colors, blue and gold, are the colors of the Illinois school. Along with the "no" symbol on a cartoon of a gopher mascot, this memorabilia was created to be worn at a live match up of the two schools.

White text on blue and red rectangle tilted on white background.

James R. Thompson—also known as Big Jim by his constituents—was the longest serving governor of Illinois and held office from 1977 to 1991. As a Republican politician, he was fiscally conservative and tough on crime, but took a liberal stance when it came to the working class. Thompson’s greatest achievement as governor was Build Illinois, a sweeping construction project that helped modernize state buildings and improve highways. He also spearheaded the creation of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Policies aside, Thompson was a larger-than-life character who was often clad in casual clothing and rode horses around the Capitol Rotunda during holiday parades. After serving his time in office, Thompson worked as a high-profile attorney and later served on the 9/11 Commission.

Green text on white background above white text on green background.

The Carter Mondale Campaign in 1976 consisted of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale as the Democratic nominees for President and Vice President in the United States Presidential election. Carter had previously served as the governor of Georgia from 1971-1975. Walter Mondale had served as a United States Senator, representing Minnesota from 1964-1976. Carter and Mondale defeated the Republican candidates, incumbent President Gerald Ford and his selection for Vice President, Bob Dole. Jimmy Carter was the first President elected who represented the Deep South since the 1848 Presidential election of Zachary Taylor. The color green was used to symbolize Carter's agricultural roots.

White and red text on black background.

F.D. Wertman worked for the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association. He wrote an article for Iowa State University on the relicensure of veterinarians and mandatory education in 1977 arguing that varied medical practices creating academies were a detriment to a standard education among the states.

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Black text with illustration of red and white flag on white background.

John Anderson was a Republican Illinois Representative (16th congressional district, 1961 to 1981). He ran for president during the 1980 presidential campaign. Initially running as a Republican, he eventually ran as an Independent. This switch came as result of many factors, such as, his less conservative views on tax cuts, gun control, and the Republican party's failure to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment. 

Green text and red heart on white background.

Alpha Epsilon Phi is a Jewish sorority that was founded on October 24th, 1909. The first chapter was founded at Barnard College in New York City, but can now be found on over 50 campuses across the United States. Although they are a Jewish sorority, membership is open to all college women. The sorority places emphasis on their members performing well academically and committing their time to various philanthropic organizations and performing community service. 

This is a variation of the I heart NY logo that was created in 1977 by Milton Glaser for an ad campaign created by advertising agency Wells Rich Greene. The marketing campaign was sought by then-Deputy Commissioner William S. Doyle to increase tourism in the state of New York. The campaign was a wild success. The original sketch of the logo is permanently on display at the MOMA.

The logo has become iconic in pop-culture and has been imitated in many forms around the world.

Black text with red heart in place of "love" on white background.

The "I heart" logo was created in 1977 by Milton Glaser for an ad campaign created by advertising agency Wells Rich Greene. The marketing campaign was sought by then-Deputy Commissioner William S. Doyle to increase tourism in the state of New York. The campaign was a wild success. The original sketch of the logo is permanently on display at the MOMA.

The logo has become iconic in pop-culture and has been imitated in many forms around the world, like on this button.

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Black text encircling image of blue and gray wave with white 84 in the image.

The "world’s fair" was a large international exhibition of a wide variety of industrial, scientific, and cultural items that are on display at a specific site for a period of time, ranging usually from three to six months. Since 1970, the world's fair has been themed, often environmental in nature, rather than a celebration of a historical anniversary or a colonial empire like the earlier fairs. Many of these modern themed world's fair were shorter festivals held in smaller cities compared to Paris, New York, Chicago, and other headliners of the early 20th century. The 1984 fair was held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Louisiana World Exposition's theme was "The World of Rivers—Fresh Waters as a Source of Life." The expo was plagued with attendance problems and subsequently gained the dubious distinction of being the only exposition to declare bankruptcy during its run.

The bankruptcy and bad publicity of the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair would lead to a three decade pull back of the United States from the World's Fair landscape, with subsequent withdrawal from the Bureau of International Expositions. Although New Orleans was a success from an exhibit standpoint, unrealistic attendance estimates made the fair as a whole a failure with a low attendance of seven million. The previous world fair held in Knoxville, Tennessee drew in eleven million.