Smiley faces, the original emoji's if you will, are now all pervasive ....
The classic form was designed by Harvey Ball in 1963, who was employed by State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts and asked to create a 'happy face' to use in the office, to raise staff morale.
He created the design in around ten minutes, and was paid $45 (equivalent to $368 in 2018). If only he had known how it would travel, then he would have walked down to the patent office, and been a billionaire before he died.
Of course, there have been other versions of the round face with a smile .... From Bronze Age stelae to a poster for for the film 'Lili' which was produced in 1953, a representation of a round circle with a smile has been used to pass on the idea of a happy face .... but I guess, it had to be both a certain place and time, for it to find its zeitgeist.
Now they are seen everywhere, on social media, and all points in between ..... From traffic lights as far afield as Ajman Municipality in the Arab Emirates, and Reykjavik, in Iceland ....
.... To people trying to make a peaceful point .....
..... and on Australian Smiley number plates being launched in Queensland, Australia.
And now a mini roundabout in Tórshavn, in the Faroe Islands as well, where the smiling roundabout won UKRAS International, roundabout of the year award in 2019. This mini-roundabout is billed as the happiest roundabout in the world .... so there you are. Mind you, considering the fact that a mini roundabout in the Faroe's, probably only sees 3 or 4 cars a day, perhaps there is reason for the car users to smile when they see the smiley face ....
But one last thought about emoji's ...the Kinsey Institute has reported that online dating profiles that make liberal use of emoji's are more successful in getting dates, and have sex more often than those profiles that don't use emoji's. The believe that may be because they are better at communicating desire.
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| The 1963 Smiley That Launched A Few Billion More .... |
The classic form was designed by Harvey Ball in 1963, who was employed by State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Massachusetts and asked to create a 'happy face' to use in the office, to raise staff morale.
He created the design in around ten minutes, and was paid $45 (equivalent to $368 in 2018). If only he had known how it would travel, then he would have walked down to the patent office, and been a billionaire before he died.
 |
| From Bronze Age Stelae, To A 1953 Film Poster .... Smiley Faces Have Appeared. |
Of course, there have been other versions of the round face with a smile .... From Bronze Age stelae to a poster for for the film 'Lili' which was produced in 1953, a representation of a round circle with a smile has been used to pass on the idea of a happy face .... but I guess, it had to be both a certain place and time, for it to find its zeitgeist.
 |
| Traffic Light Smileys ... Around The Globe. |
Now they are seen everywhere, on social media, and all points in between ..... From traffic lights as far afield as Ajman Municipality in the Arab Emirates, and Reykjavik, in Iceland ....
 |
.... To people trying to make a peaceful point .....
 |
| Australian Smiley Number Plates ...... |
..... and on Australian Smiley number plates being launched in Queensland, Australia.
 |
| Tórshavn Mini Roundabout Faroe Islands |
And now a mini roundabout in Tórshavn, in the Faroe Islands as well, where the smiling roundabout won UKRAS International, roundabout of the year award in 2019. This mini-roundabout is billed as the happiest roundabout in the world .... so there you are. Mind you, considering the fact that a mini roundabout in the Faroe's, probably only sees 3 or 4 cars a day, perhaps there is reason for the car users to smile when they see the smiley face ....
But one last thought about emoji's ...the Kinsey Institute has reported that online dating profiles that make liberal use of emoji's are more successful in getting dates, and have sex more often than those profiles that don't use emoji's. The believe that may be because they are better at communicating desire.
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