Illustration of a smiling face on a 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 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.

Light green button with dark green smiley face. "NY" is written in the eyes and a "1" makes up the nose. 

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Illustration of a smiley with a black phone on a blue 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.

The rotary dial phone operates with pulse dialing. The caller chooses the numbers one at a time on a wheel that rotates. The receiver and microphone are built into one handset which has a cord that attaches to the rotary phone’s base that is plugged into the wall.

Hot pink button with the image of a smiley face. The smile is made up of the phrase "I love the ferry". 

A ferry is a type of vessel that carries people or items between two places. A famous ferry is the Staten Island Ferry which travels between St. George on Staten Island and Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan daily.

The I heart NY 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.

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 ying yang with half a yellow smiley face and half a tie-dye background with a peace sign and eight ball with a black outer

Nick Rouley, a former Busy Beaver Button Company employee, designed this button with representations of things that were popular in the 1990s for a button swap.

Blue text and a blue smiling face illustration on a white background

Volkswagen is a German automaker that was founded in 1937. They are well-known for the style of car known as the beetle, which has had several iterations over the years. Their logo colors are blue and white. This suggestive button with car logos in the eyes, saying, "You look great," implies that the person viewing the car can see themselves in a VW automobile.

Yellow button with black smiley face and text in the smile. 

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.

The Wonder Stuff is a British alternative rock band active in the late 80s and early 90s, who took a hiatus, then reunited in the year 2000 to the present day. They have one number 1 single for the song, “Dizzy,” and have six songs on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart in the United States.

Illustration of a pink smiley face with green stars for eyes and green text on the black smile and pink text on the outer white edge

The British New Wave band Sigue Sigue Sputnik released the single “Success” to minimal critical acclaim in 1988. This button features the cover of the single, and reflects the cheeky and garish esthetic that the group took as their trademark. Although the group disbanded in 1989, they reunited frequently in subsequent years, often with changes in personnel.

Yellow smiley faced button with black text around the rim. 

Norfolk and Western Railway was a class I railroad founded by more than 200 railroad mergers from 1838 and 1982. During the Civil War, the NW played an important role for moving items in the Confederacy. Employing coal for much of its life, the NW Railway was profitable through WWI and WWII paying regular dividends throughout the Great Depression.

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.

Lime green button with black smiley face and black text. 

Jetsgo Airlines was a low-cost airline based in Montreal, Canada. They were founded in 2001 and operated throughout North America, with 19 destinations in Canada and 10 in the United States. Although they were ranked as the third largest carrier in Canada at one time, they abruptly ended service on March 11, 2005 and filed bankruptcy. The sudden cease in service left thousands of travelers stranded and 1350 employees out of work.