Massachusetts, 1963. An American company is facing internal crisis in the midst of a hostile merger process, and they decide to call on graphic designer Harvey Ball to create a new logo to help encourage their employees, creating the so-called "friendship campaign."
Few of us know the true story behind the world's most famous yellow happy face, but the truth is that the smiley, one of the most influential icons in pop culture, was created in just 10 minutes.
The design's impact was so great that it became a symbol of struggle and positivism, accompanying many social and cultural movements over the decades. In the 1970s, the smiley face was a symbol of protest and advocacy, especially within the hippie movement. By the end of the Vietnam War, this icon had established itself as a symbol of hope for society as a whole, selling more than 50 million products and generating revenue of $1.4 million in the US. It was then that the American hippie movement began to spread to France, and French journalist Franklin Loufrani patented the design, although he failed to prevent the European rave movement from appropriating it in the 1980s as a form of liberation and escape.
Since then, the iconic yellow smiley face has grossed over $500 billion in all its formats. The design was initially valued at $41.50 (about $400 today).
Harvey Ball at an autograph signing during the 35th anniversary of the "smiley face." Via @Domestika
And how did this smiley become the face of more than 300 emojis we use on our phones today? The mass commercialization of the smiley and digitalization forced The Smiley Company (the patent holders) to update, developing a 3D version. In 2001, they launched 470 emojis, the first set of emojis in history.
Smiley currently owns the rights to use the smiley in more than 100 countries and internationally to more than 300 of the emojis we use every day.
And why yellow?
Harvey Ball said he imagined the smiling face just as he imagined the sun shining.
