Traditional yellow smiley face design but where the smile is made by letters

The Smile Face Museum was founded by Mark Sachs in 1992 in Silver Spring, Maryland. It operated for 2 years in that location, with over 400 items on display. In 2014, the museum was temporarily installed in a Brooklyn, NY apartment. It featured the founding collection, the work of over 60 artists, and the collections of Sarah Jacobson, Rita Mageary, Emily Stebbins, and the Busy Beaver Button Museum.

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.

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

Illustration of a smiley face in blue with a blue bow tie with yellow text on it on a yellow background

Tastee Freez is a soft serve ice cream which can be found at TasteeFreez fast food restaurants. The first Tastee Freez was established in Illinois in 1950 by Leo Moranz and Harry Axene. The business franchised several locations and expanded the Tastee Freez brand. In 1952 there were 315 locations, and by 1957 there were almost 1800. Though Tastee Freez expanded its menu to include a variety of food items along with their famous Tastee Freez soft serve, the number of locations have declined in recent decades.

This button is a variation on the classic yellow smiley face that 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.

Illustration of a smiling face with bangs and freckles on a yellow background with black text along the bottom

Every year at Christmas the St. Michael’s organization holds a parade on Talbot Street in St. Michael’s, Maryland. The organization was begun by volunteers in 1987 to fund community organizations and services by hosting events during the holiday season, and has raised more than one million dollars over the years to benefit these groups. The Talbot Street parade is an annual event, mainly for children and families, including a marching band, llamas, horses, antique cars, and features Santa and Mrs. Claus. The event is prided as being the largest parade on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

(n.d.). Christmas in St. Michael’s. Retrieved from: https://christmasinstmichaels.org/about/.

Illustration of a smiley face with a red tongue licking its lips over blue and red text on a yellow background

Skippy Peanut Butter was first sold in 1933. One of Skippy's slogans is "Spread on the smiles"', and a recent ad campaign promotes the slogan, "Skippy-- Yippee!" Skippy is the second most popular brand of peanut butter worldwide second only to Jif peanut butter, and is now manufactured by Hormel Foods, which purchased Skippy from Unilever in 2013. 

A yellow background with black text across the middle of the smiley face. Black eyes and a squiggly mouth.

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.

A smirk is considered a smug of condescending expression. Today, a squiggly smiley face is called the woozy face (U+1F974) which indicates that the person expressing this emoji feels tired and emotional. 

A yellow background with a yellow smiley face wearing a red firehat with a yellow W on the front.

Wal-mart has been using a smiley face to represent their brand since 1996 when they started to release a series of "Rollback" commercials using the yellow happy face in different costumes.

Walmart has thus gotten into law suit with SmileyWorld, a company in London who claims to have created the image in 1968. In 2005, Charles Smith, a man from Georgia, decided to launch a parody site Walocaust to protest the mega-store's business practices. In reaction, Wal-Mart asserted common law trademark rights in the “smiley face” design prominently displayed in Wal-Mart stores, but it eventually began to phase out smiley in its vests and website in 2006 due to the negative press Smith's campaign has aroused.

Yellow text on a black background

To smile is when the corners of a person's mouth turns upward, sometimes showing teeth, to express a happy or content feeling. Encouraging others to smile can often be a positive motivator.

A green background with dark blue text at the top of the image. At the bottom is a Mamiya EZ Quartz camera with a smiley face on the lens.

Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company founded in 1940 by camera designer Seiichi Mamiya and financial backer Tsunejiro Sugawara. Mamiya's headquarters are located in Tokyo, and the company employs over 200 people. Mamiya's last 35mm cameras produced were the Z-series cameras, including the Mamiya ZE, which was introduced in July, 1980. It was sometimes called the ZE Quartz because of its quartz-controlled focal-plane metal shutter. "Smile and say Mamiya" is a play on the saying, "Smile and say cheese", often used by people taking a picture of people. 

Traditional smiley face design in white on a bright pink background with white text around the outer edge

When Amtrak introduced its new TurboTrain in the 1970s, it was meant to update train travel with faster, more modern trains. It was dubbed "the train of the future", equipped with airplane-like gas turbine engines. Unfortunately, there were several problems with the operation of the trains, and they were very costly to maintain and operate. The TurboTrains were soon retired from the tracks in the 1980s. Amtrak often handed out promotional buttons and brochures on the TurboTrains first runs, with slogans like, "Smile a While on the TurboTrain" and, "We're Making the Trains Worth Traveling Again."

This button is a variation on the classic yellow smiley face that 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.

Traditional yellow smiley face design but with an upsidedown smile with tongue sticking out and black text under the face

This button is a variation on the classic yellow smiley face that 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.