Harvey Ball facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harvey Ball
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| Born |
Harvey Ross Ball
July 10, 1921 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | April 12, 2001 (aged 79) Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Education | Worcester South High School; Worcester Art Museum School |
| Occupation | Commercial artist |
| Known for | Inventor of the smiley face |
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Notable work
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Smiley face |
Harvey Ross Ball (born July 10, 1921, died April 12, 2001) was an American artist who designed pictures for businesses. He is famous for creating the well-known smiley face! This simple drawing became a huge symbol all around the world. Even though it became super popular, he never got a trademark for it and only earned $45 for his design. Later, in 1999, Harvey Ball started the Harvey Ball World Smile Foundation. This is a non-profit group that helps kids.
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Harvey Ball's Early Life
Harvey Ball grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. His parents were Ernest G. Ball and Christine Ross Ball. He had five brothers and sisters. While he was a student at Worcester South High School, he learned how to paint signs from a local artist. After high school, he went to the Worcester Art Museum School to study art.
How the Smiley Face Was Born
After World War II, Harvey Ball worked for an advertising company. In 1959, he started his own business called Harvey Ball Advertising. He designed the famous smiley face in 1963.
The Company's Request
A company called State Mutual Life Assurance Company in Worcester, Massachusetts (now called Hanover Insurance) had bought another company. This made their employees feel a bit down. To cheer them up, the company hired Harvey Ball in 1963. They asked him to create an image that would make everyone smile.
Designing the Smiley
Harvey Ball started with a bright yellow circle. He added a smile, but he didn't like that it could be turned upside down to look like a frown. So, he added two eyes. This made sure the face always looked happy! The whole drawing took him only 10 minutes to finish. For this quick design, he earned $45.
The Smiley's Popularity
State Mutual planned to give out 100 buttons with the new smiley design. But people loved it so much that demand quickly grew! The idea was to encourage employees to smile when they were on the phone or doing other tasks. These buttons became very popular. Soon, orders were coming in for 10,000 buttons at a time. By 1971, more than 50 million smiley face buttons had been sold. The smiley became known as an international symbol of happiness.
By 1971, the smiley face was everywhere. Harvey Ball talked to lawyers about getting a trademark for his design. However, they told him that the design was now in the public domain. This meant anyone could use it. Harvey Ball said it didn't bother him. He felt happy if he could make the world a little happier. His son, Charles, said that his father never regretted not making more money from the design. Charles explained that his dad wasn't focused on money. He would say, "Hey, I can only eat one steak at a time, drive one car at a time."
The Smiley's Global Journey
The phrase "Have a happy day" became linked with the smiley, even though Harvey Ball didn't create it. In the early 1970s, brothers Bernard and Murray Spain from Philadelphia designed and sold products with this phrase and the smiley logo. They got a trademark for this combination. Later, they changed the phrase to "Have a nice day", which is now a common saying in North America.
The smiley face also traveled to France in 1972. A newspaper called France-Soir used it to mark good news stories. A Frenchman named Franklin Loufrani used the image this way and quickly got a trademark for it. By 2013, his company was making a lot of money from the smiley. They even had a legal disagreement with Walmart over the image in the 1990s.
On February 4, 2012, the BBC aired a radio show called Smiley's People. This show told the story of the smiley face.
Promoting the Smiley
On July 18, 1998, which was around the 35th birthday of the smiley design, Harvey Ball met fans at a comic shop called That's Entertainment. He signed smiley pins and art for them. At this event, he was shown copies of a graphic novel called Watchmen. This book featured a famous image of a smiley face with a splash of blood on it. The store manager said that Harvey Ball seemed amused to see his design on the cover.
The World Smile Foundation
In 1999, Harvey Ball started the World Smile Foundation. This is a non-profit group that helps children's causes. The foundation gives permission for people to use the smiley face design. It also organizes World Smile Day. This special day happens on the first Friday of October each year. It's a day for "good cheer and good works." The main message for the day is: "Do an act of kindness – help one person smile."
Harvey Ball's Legacy
Harvey Ball passed away on April 12, 2001, at the age of 79. He died from liver failure after a short illness. He was married to Winifred Trudell for 54 years, and they had four children.
The land that belonged to the Ball family in Worcester was bought by the City of Worcester in June 2007. This land helps connect Mass Audubon's Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary with the Blackstone River Bikeway. It is now called the "Harvey Ball Conservation Area." It even has a path named the "Smiley Face Trail"!
How to Spot an Original Harvey Ball Smiley
You can tell an original Harvey Ball smiley face by a few special details:
- It has narrow oval eyes. The eye on the right is a little bigger than the one on the left.
- The color is a bright, sunny yellow.
- The mouth is not a perfect curve. Some people say it looks a bit like the "Mona Lisa Mouth."
- There are small creases at the sides of the mouth.
- The mouth is slightly off-center, with the right side a little higher than the left.
- The right side of the mouth is also a bit thicker than the left side.
