Black illustration of a smiling face with shamrock shaped eyes on a green background

This button was most likely produced for people to wear on Saint Patrick's Day, a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17, the day of Saint Patrick's death. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and the day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and the heritage and culture of the Irish people.  According to legend, Saint Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans, which accounts for the use of the shamrock to depict the eyes of the face on this button. It is customary to wear shamrocks and the color green on Saint Patrick's Day. Celebrations around the world include parades, feasts, festivals and drinking alcohol. 

Black illustration of a smiling face with shamrock shaped eyes on a green 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.

This variation on the traditional smile was most likely produced for people to wear on Saint Patrick's Day, a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on March 17, the day of Saint Patrick's death. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, and the day commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and the heritage and culture of the Irish people. According to legend, Saint Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans, which accounts for the use of the shamrock to depict the eyes of the face on this button. It is customary to wear shamrocks and the color green on Saint Patrick's Day. Celebrations around the world include parades, feasts, festivals and drinking alcohol.

Yellow smiley face button with black text. 

Garsten Motors is an automotive retailer based in Riverhead, New York. The dealership—now named Apple Honda—was founded by businessman Irwin Garsten in 1959. Originally, Garsten Motors was located on Main Street but moved to a three-acre plot on Route 58 in 1972. Today, Route 58 is a heavily commercialized part of town and a major stop on the Long Island Expressway, helping to bring business to Apple Honda. At 86, Irwin Garsten continues to work at his beloved company and intends to pass it on to his son and Apple Honda’s manager Bill Fields. During his sixty years in business, Garsten has owned around seventeen auto franchises but claims that Apple Honda is by far his most successful.

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.

Illustration of a smiley with flowers for eyes on a rainbow sparkly background

This button is part of the 2014 Button-O-Matic artist series produced by Busy Beaver Button Company. It was designed by artist Carrie Vinarsky.

Yellow smiley face with a blood drip by the left eye. 

Featured here is one of the most iconic images from the comic and film Watchmen: a bloodied smiley face. In the story, the morally bankrupt superhero the Comedian wears the button, and it becomes blood-stained during the course of the inciting event of the narrative. This design appears to be specifically tied to the release of the 2009 film adaptation of the comic.

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 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.

Yellow button with black text surrounding a smiley face

“Don’t Worry Be Happy” is a phrase used most often in the 1960s. It was spoken first by Indian Spiritual Guru Meher Baba 1894-1969. Baba believed himself to be an Avatar which is God in human form. In 1988, the musician Bobby McFerrin released a song titled “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and it was the first a cappella song to reach the Billboard 100.

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.

Illustration of a smiley with the Burger King logo for eyes on a white background

This was a promotional button given out by Burger King, a worldwide chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1953. The era that this button was given out was during Burger King’s peak years of advertising. After two decades of unsuccessful advertising campaigns they would eventually partner with CP+B to create “The King” character, until accusations of the ads being sexist or culturally insensitive, leading to the advertising taking a new direction in 2011. 

Yellow smiley face button with words making up the mouth and sunglasses. 

Bogus Books is a graphic novel publisher that was established in 2010. The creators of Bogus Books also host a YouTube show called Bogus World that is about the world of indie comics.

Green button with the illustration of a smiley face with big teeth meant to be Jimmy Carter's smile

Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States of America from 1977 to 1981. He sought to find peaceful solutions to problems and therefore received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Unfortunately, Carter was unable to serve a second term as President due to the continued issue of inflation and that U.S. Embassy members were being held as hostages in Iran during the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. Carter was able to solve the current unemployment problem during his term and claimed an increase of about eight million jobs. Carter wanted to create a Government that was “competent and compassionate.” The color green was used in all of Carter's campaign items.

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 on a brown button. The image of a smiling totem pole top is in the center. 

Totem poles and other large wood carvings depicting both humanoid and animal faces are objects commonly produced by Pacific Northwest Indigenous cultures. Some of the Indigenous bands that are connected to the land now known as Alaska include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. A bold eye outlined in black and highlighted by a mask-like shape in turquoise is frequently seen on sculptures by the Tlingit, Haida, and Eyak peoples.

Upon the arrival of Westerners on the Pacific Northwest coast, Indigenous cultures and cultural artifacts were derisively viewed as curios and artifacts instead of the living cultural objects they are. The lasting effect of this colonial perspective on Indigenous cultural production and objects was that Indigenous works were produced for a tourist market and work with sacred meaning was used to encourage tourism.