As iconic symbols go, very few have the warmth and positivity power of the classic yellow smiley. This happy face logo lives on badges and buttons, sweatshirts and song records, and comics and our collective consciousness.
Brimming with fun, joy, and a happy, happy vibe, the smiley logo design transcends moods, miles, and mountain peaks.
As global brands have proved, it’s as relevant in North America as it is in China. International brands across wide market segments including Amazon, Ali Baba, Goodwill, and IHOP all use the smiley logo to bring their consumers to their doors, present their brands in a positive light, and communicate that undeniable feel-good factor.
So who is the mastermind behind this iconic logo creation? Who do we thank for this simple yet effective piece of branding and good cheer?
That is a fantastic question — but without a straight answer. One of the best kinds of questions in the world.
Here’s what a cursory look around the media/Internet would tell you:
Image Source: freepik.com/rawpixel.com
An advertising man, Harvey Ball, created the famous smiley icon as a commissioned job for his client, the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of America as a morale booster for employees. The original idea was to print a smile icon on badges, buttons, and other stuff that people would wear and, hopefully, feel good about the tense merges the company was going through at the time.
The company’s Head of Marketing, Joe Young, came up with the smile idea but his concern was that people might put the thing upside down. Harvey Ball eased the problem by placing two eyes on the smile and using bright yellow paper to draw the graphic.
Thus, the smiley was born.
In 1953 and 1958, the Hollywood studio MGM used smiley face icons to promote their movies, Lili and Gigi. In 1961, two years before Harvey Ball, the New York City radio station, WMCA, ran a popular promotional campaign, WMCA Good Guys, featuring a very similar smiley icon on their bright yellow sweatshirts.
Mick Jagger in a WMCA Good Guy sweatshirt. Source: 06880 & etsy.com
Some years later, in 1971, on the other side of the Atlantic, a Frenchman, Franklin Loufrani, set up his own smiley icon to highlight good news in the French newspaper, France Soir. His yellow smiling face icon was uncannily similar to the one created by Ball. He trademarked that icon, dubbed it the Smiley, and used it to set up his licensing company, the Smiley Company.
The Smiley face on the France Soir paper. Source: It’s a Present!
Between these two major claimants of the classic Smiley, countless other people used the smiley face logo to sell their products, market their businesses, and brand their services.
Its use continued in the public domain freely and without trademark violations by everyone and all. DC Comics did it for their critically acclaimed comic, the Watchmen. The music band, Talking Heads used a smiley icon on its vinyl record sleeve for a UK release opportunity. The MAD magazine also used smiley icons for its magazine cover in April 1972.
We will let ‘you’ be the judge of that. While it is evident that there were popular and publicly available instances of the smiley face out in the world before Harvey Ball created it, it’s entirely possible that he came up with the design all on his own (with a little help from Joe Young) and it somehow became more popular than anything before it.
It is also entirely possible that the founder of the Smiley Company had no idea that the smiley face existed or that businesses were using it to promote their goods and he genuinely created the first smiley for his newspaper job and rightfully trademarked it.
The truth is that the smiley face logo is such a fundamentally basic graphic that no one can reasonably claim to own it as their invention.
As the Smiley Company likes to point out, similar graphics existed all over history long before Joe Young, Harvey Ball, or Franklin Loufrani conjured them up.
Source: The Smiley Company
So, what’s your verdict? Who do you think is the original creator of the smiley or do you agree that it’s too simple to be called a creative invention?
If you’d like to read about the complicated origin story of the smiley logo, Smithsonian Magazine has done a great article. CNN also covered it in some detail. Paul Hillery, a UK-based graphic designer visits the topic too. Try this for a quicker read if you aren’t in the mood for a deep dive.
But all this history aside, why do we care about the smiley logo so much? Why do so many brands insist on using this symbol as their brand identity mark?
Research proves that the presence of a smiley face on a product packaging or design can greatly influence its preference and evaluation in people’s minds.
A logo with a smiley face “on a product can influence evaluations of and preferences for that product.”
It happens because a smile is not only a positive emotion but communicates a kind attitude too. People in customer services are trained to always answer consumer concerns with a helpful smile. A kind smile can brighten up a stranger’s day, make you look highly likable, confident, and influential in your LinkedIn photo, and help people feel more positively and approvingly about your brand.
What else can a smiling face logo do?
The smiling face is the most universally understood message of communication. It conveys an offer of peace, a nod of a welcome gesture, and a bright and sunny personality.
When you put on a smiley logo on your brand identity, or tagline, or use it as a part of your marketing campaign, it sets you up as a brand that can be understood across ponds, party lines, and geographic poles.
It instantly ignites trust and creates emotional connections completely non-dependent on language and verbal dialog.
Smiles are one of the most valuable things you can bring to a meeting. As an icebreaker, nothing else comes close. A confident handshake and a smile can start you on a much nicer footing than any lengthy intro you’ve planned.
The same is true for your brand’s presence on the store shelves and social media. A smile-powered logo on your product label can set it apart from others around it. People will perceive your brand as good-natured, joyous, and fun to be around.
While it depends on a complex set of factors, a smile generally is an indicator of trust. If your brand has a happy face logo, people generally might feel warmer and more accepting of it. Your brand message may be perceived as being authentic and thus more reliable and trustworthy.
Smiles have great architecture. Every smile is unique and the way they make a person look and feel can also be dramatically different. A subtle smile can send a very different message than a deep and hearty smile. A toothy grin on a children’s logo design can uplift an otherwise simple graphic.
So whether your brand message is of carefree delight and embrace or something professionally polished like the LG logo, you can find a smile and a way to present it that aligns perfectly with your brand objectives.
The smiley face logos lie on a spectrum. Some carry only the hint of a smile, others are more prominent with basic facial features, and then we have the most detailed ones with brand logo mascots that are smiling.
Below is a breakdown.
These smiling face logos only carry the smiles without the facial details. The smiles, thus, become the main characters of the logo, commanding the most notice and conveying the most potent brand messaging.
That’s why you must get these smiley logos right as a lot is riding on that curved line. Brands usually go for wide smiles in these logos. Barring a few, you’ll mostly see face-to-face grins here — beaming smiles that indicate pleasure, amusement, and laughter.
The smiley logo is more pronounced than its predecessor. Eyes are a common accompanying feature. You may also sometimes see the oval or circular shape of the face but we can’t guarantee that.
The overriding emotion or purpose of the smiley face is to make that smile not the main character but the whole, complete, consummate logo. The brand message may be emphasized with a winking eye, a more joyful color palette, or fun typography. But the smile itself takes over the logo and creates a lasting, positive icon.
We leave nothing to chance with these logos. Going with the anthropological evidence that our smiles may be our most innate reactions, these brands go all in with their smiley mascots.
From Starbucks to Wendy’s, we see smiling mascots of all types, ages, species, and folklore. The smiles are also varied. From winks to grins to serene bashful things, these smiles convey a wealth of emotions and make these smiling mascots powerful brand carriers.
The smiley face logo has been a brand-favorite icon for businesses across the world. Has it shown us all it could do, or does this old dog still have some tricks up its sleeve?
As the smiley becomes more mainstream, it also becomes richer in meaning. This richness is expressed through less defined forms open for interpretation. The camouflaged smile in the starry icon below or the one present in that swooping line on the other one are all renditions of a simpler but deeper concept: a smile hiding a secret that you’ll have to unbox.
The abstract smiley icon is perfect for innovative tech brands, unique consumer products, or out-of-the-box original ideas.
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Vadim Carazan
Image Source: DesignMantic.com
Never underestimate the playful power of a brand mascot.
Designed to evoke youthfulness and delight, a grinning smiley is perfect for all things wonder. From bakery logos to barber shop logos, a grinning mascot is the ideal mischief maker you can ask for a brand.
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Emir Kudic
Image Source: DesignMantic.com
We have seen an influx of line art smiley logos popping up everywhere. Embracing the versatility of lines, these smiley logos can look sleek, pillowy, approachable, and snappy. Just alter the length and weight of the line and see the magic unfold.
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Dalibor Pajic
Image Source: DesignMantic.com
Image Source: DesignMantic.com
The yellow smiley may be classic but the modern audience can read it as passe. A refreshed new look is needed and the designers aren’t coming in slow. We have seen everything from concentrated pastels to zesty hot colors in neon brightness.
From a dependable red and black palette to something beautifully original, a bold color smiley is dressed for the future and we are here for it.
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Daniel Bodea / Kreatank
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Slavisa Dujkovic
Tyra Banks coined and popularized the term ‘smizing’, which is smiling with your eyes. The term may belong to the aughts but the expression is very 2024!
Animated smiley logos are taking it to creative extremes with playful motion design. Can’t spot the smile on the lips? Look to the eyes. They are beaming and glowing!
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Alex Gorbunov
Image Source: Dribbble.com/Domingo González
Color your logo happy with a smiley logo design. Our logo design gallery gives you access to free smiley logos that you can customize, design, and make your own. Each logo template is human-made and ready to be edited.
With our easy-to-use and fun-to-explore logo editing tool, you can do a lot of creative work with any template you choose. Run around with colors, mess up the fonts, or get rid of any element altogether. It’s all possible and free here.
You only pay for what you download. So try our logo maker today and step confidently into your branding future with a happy face logo by your side.
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