Celebrating World Smile Day: History and Impact

Who was behind this holiday? It wasn’t a dentist. To my delight it was a commercial artist in the USA. As a creator myself this got my attention. Discovered his creation has morphed into the popular smiling emoji and still brings smiles around the world. Want to know more?

The ‘smiley’ was created in 1963 by Harvey Ross Ball. He had his own advertising business and was hired to solve a company’s problem. Two insurance companies had merged, and employee morale was low. He was commissioned to create an image to improve the situation.

The story is he drew a bright yellow circle and then, a line curving upward like a smile but he wasn’t satisfied.   Too easy to turn it into a frown. He fixed that by adding two eyes. The original also had little corner dashes.  It took only ten minutes and earned him $45.

The insurance company handed out yellow buttons with Mr. Ball’s design.  They were a hit with the employees and did improve morale.  Mr. Ball knew instinctively when we see a smile we smile back.  Since then, researchers have proved that it’s true. Just thinking about it I feel the corners of my mouth creeping upward.

It was the mid 60’s and metal buttons with a pin on the back were the rage. Funny sayings, cartoons, and all kinds of designs and sizes were available. His design was copied. You could purchase huge ones, and often smaller versions were given away in promotions. Everyone who collected buttons had at least one.

He didn’t patent his creation in 1963 and when did approach patent attorneys, he was told it was too late.  He wasn’t upset or regretted not registering the copyright.

In 1999 he organized the World Smile Foundation, a non-profit charitable trust that supported children’s causes.  They organized the World Smile Day.  It’s the first Friday in October each year.  It’s a day dedicated to “good cheer and good works.”

Did you ever own a smiley button? No smiley for me. We called ours’s happy buttons. I had a huge yellow and remember a pink face and an orange. Bet you use emojis’. Have a favorite? Have a memory of a favorite card that makes you smile? I’d love to hear about your experiences. Please share in the comments.

This October 4^th I’ll be smiling at a local craft fair, sharing my hand-crafted cards designed to generate smiles for both the giver and the receiver.  I started this blog to spread happy news and the existence of my cards availability. To visit my Etsy shop PaperCraftedBliss – Etsy  If you’re on Facebook  look for and follow Paper Crafted Bliss. Keep smiling!