It would be nice to imagine that this smiley is the ancestral father of the iconic yellow smiley face we all know, which was born only in the 60s thanks to the illustrator Harvey Ball. It was just like any other ordinary project for him. He was hired by State Mutual Life Assurance Company to create a motivating and positive commercial design. Neither he nor the company knew they were making history. Ball was paid 45$ for his work.
The smiley icon has been at the center of trademark and ownership litigations since the 70s. Ball declared October 1 as World Smile Day. This was his way to take a positive stance, instead of being dragged to court with ownership battles. The day was first celebrated in 1999, and it has been annually honored ever since!
