When, Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963, the yellow circle with the two dots and a smile become the most recognizable symbol of good will and cheer on the planet. In the 70’s the smiley face was used in comics, movies like Forest Gump and even for political movements. With the expansion of the internet in the 90’s the smile emoji’s fame, exploded.
Even though he only earned U$ 45 for the design, Harvey was concerned that in the race to commercialise the Smiley Face, the essence of his message of spreading good will and being kind to your fellow human had been lost. With that in mind in 1999, on the first Friday of October in Worcester Massachusetts, the first World Smile Day was celebrated.
So today, on World Smile Day “Do an act of kindness – help one person smile”
