Illustration of a traditional smiley face design but with two sets of eyes and a cigarette hanging out of its mouth on a yellow and orange swirl 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.

Burrito Breath is a graphic artist company that designs buttons, stickers, and other creative items.

A red and white smiley face made up of cursive text for teh eyes and a nose and a mouth with a red outer edge

The Molson Coors Brewing Company is a North American brewing company. Molson (a Canadian company) was founded in 1786, and Coors (an American company) was founded in 1873. The two companies merged in 2005, and together, the Molson Coors company is the seventh largest brewer in the world, employing over 5,000 people. Their headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, and they produce a variety of beers, lagers, malt beverages, energy drinks, spirits, and wines.

Illustration of a face with big white and black eyes and a smile with red text above it and green text below

"Welcome" is a greeting often used when a customer enters a place of business. "Come back again" is a salutation often stated by the worker of the place of business towards the departing customer. 

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 are 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.

In internet culture, the smiley face is often represented by a colon and a parentheses. :)

Traditional smiley face design but with a bright red 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.

Orange background with yellow text.

Air Jamaica created an optimistic campaign to entice visitors during the 1970s - "I Was Born with a Smile on My Face." The goal was to encourage vacationers who were looking for a good time to travel to the Caribbean and Jamaica. The slogan also makes an allusion to the Bob Marley Smile Jamaica concert that took place in 1976. This slogan, along with others like it, was created as part of the campaign. Here is an example of another that is in our collection: "I Feel Good All Over"

Traditional yellow smiley face design surrounded by white stars adn with white and yellow text above all on a red background

This slogan is one of many used on promotional items for Red Ribbon Week, which is an alcohol, tobacco and other drug and violence prevention awareness campaign observed in October in the U.S. Red Ribbon Week started after the kidnapping, torture and murder of a DEA agent in Mexico in 1985. The case was followed in the media and helped expose the world of drug trafficking and how far traffickers would go to maintain power and control. Citizens of the DEA agent’s hometown wore red ribbons in his honor, which became a symbol for prevention in order to reduce the demand of illegal drugs.

Traditional yellow smiley face design with black text under the face

This is a friendly variation of 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.

White background with a smiley face in the center formed out of capital A's (ridge side red, left side blue) over a red nose shape and blue crescent shape with 'GROUPIE' written in white to represent teeth. The American Airlines eagle logo is found at the top center of the button in blue. Around the edge are small blue smiley faces.

American Airlines, established in 1930 as a conglomeration of small airlines, was the first to make a profit by transporting passengers, and was the first to hire a female pilot in the 1970s. American Airlines grew through the years by acquiring smaller companies and by the 1970s had flights going across the United States and to some international cities as well. To encourage their growth they advertised on television and sold merchandise like this button. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the airline experienced massive growth and continued buying new airlines and opening new airport hubs. In the 2000s, American Airlines was hit hard by the struggles in the airline industry following 9/11, and was again affected during the stock market crash of 2008. Yet the airline continues to thrive and is currently the world's largest airline by fleet and revenue.

American Airlines. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines

White background with red text and two blue faces looking at each other from opposite sides

"Yoo hoo" is a phrase used to get someone's attention. The expression may have originated in America in the late 1920's.

White background with pink text

Have info on this button? Contact us here.