The Surprising Beginnings of This Simple Design | Behind The HYPE: Smiley Face

Oh defined by the perfect circular form reading yellow color and distinguishing features two vertical oval eyes and a large upturned semicircular mouth the image is grown to become the world famous symbol of happiness the yellow smiley face is experiencing a new renaissance and streetwear and beyond you only have to look to the collections of Marc Jacobs and as a focal point of designer Cynthia Lou's brand cactus plant flea market everyone from undercover supreme and capital have all given their own interpretations of the smiling brands like Chinatown Market have become ambassadors for the smiley from notepads sunglasses thermal reactive basketballs boxing gloves and just about every other lifestyle product you can imagine behind the night the smiley face one of the most memorable sub versions of the smiley face is the blood splatter version that was used as a recurring motif in Alan Moore's a true superhero graphic novel Watchmen the ominous take on the smiley which featured a combination of grin and blood splatter was best associated with the uniform of watchman's most corrupt and violent vigilante the comedian Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons vest explains to mystique by saying it's just a yellow field with three marks on it it couldn't be more simple and so to that degree it's empty it's ready for meetings if you take it and put it on a ride policeman's gas mask it becomes something completely different you've seen it everywhere from emojis on your phone coffee mugs air pod cases bumper stickers friendship bracelets and basketballs Cynthia Lou of cactus plant flea market is one of the influential names who's leveraged the connotations of the smiley her twisted takes which notoriously sell it on their sporadic drops have earned her collaborations with the likes of Kanye West and Kid Cudi knee goes human-made and more recently as charity merged with denim tears to raise relief fund during the koban 19 pandemic likewise la label Kampai has made this model a part of their cozy lifestyle uniforms the motif appears on everything from patches tags and even drawings by one of the founders own children Charlie the brand also teamed up with la label a love movement who have been using the smiley as part of their hippie identity for years while the 1994 film Forrest Gump might have you believe Tom Hanks his mud spatter t-shirt provided the origin for the smiley there's actually a surprisingly complex history behind the simple graphic while the origin of the design is contested most paths lead to the 1963 American children's TV program called the funny company which featured a crude smiley face as a kids club logo it was shown on their caps in the end titles and the final message keep smiling at the same time Harvey ball a commercial artist in Worcester Massachusetts was working on a friendship campaign for State Mutual Life Assurance in hopes that he would design an image to boost morale faul drew a simple smiling face on a yellow background and sold the design for a whopping forty five u.s. dollars the origins of the design still remain open due to the lack of trademark done by Paul or the insurance company in the early 70s two brothers Bernard and Maurice bean based in Philadelphia used the classic smiley designed to sell novelties despite their acknowledgment of Harvey's design the brothers publicly took credit for the icon when they appeared on the television show What's My Line over time the smiley is mutated into a signifier of various subcultures drugs electronic music personal freedoms and anti-capitalist attitudes Talking Heads distorted the smiley for their iconic psycho killer single while bands like the Dead Kennedys put a more political spin on the graphic with their uber allies release which saw a collage of California Governor Jerry Brown and in nürnberg style rally that replaced swastikas with large Smiley's in the late 80s the smiley transition from dream symbol to youthful rebellion artists like Danny Rampling are credited for the first use of the smiley and rave culture through flyers for his night soon the very first Balearic house night in london but it wasn't long before ravers across UK adopted smiley as a symbol of sweaty liberation as the second summer of love a period of blissed-out weekend ecstasy in 1998 while the media's initial response to this new youth cult was positive during the summer it quickly took a downturn in the autumn as smiley culture was associated with headlines like evil of ecstasy and shoot these drug barons in the 90s Nirvana famously had their own unique takes with the logo having crossed out eyes in a drooling mouth for their iconic corporate rock t-shirt during the last decade this Miley's ubiquity has only grown and become further woven into the fabric of pop culture history you know it's funny how I think the smiley faces kind of popped up in different times in my life really has become kind of a beacon of like happiness and positivity in a kind of world where you know things are very negative and you know honestly just down is this universal appeal that has undoubtedly made this smiley an icon of inspiration for capitols founder and designer Kira Harada who's incorporated the nostalgic feel-good associations of the smiley to express his idea of freedom hedonism and experimentation think Pharrell's happy the multi-million selling number one single to the unforgettable animation Despicable Me 2 featuring the smiley on a special vinyl release Pharrell an artist who's known for having synesthesia said happy has always been yellow for me so as we head into an age of uncertainty is there any deeper cultural meaning that we can take from the smiling Mike Sherman still believes the icons power as a source of joy even when things get bad we're talking about an icon born during the depths of the Cold War and Vietnam designed the same year President John F Kennedy was assassinated after all life is never perfect but too smiley lives on [Music] [Music]

Channel: HYPEBEAST

Views: 114,160

Rating: 4.9537501 out of 5

Keywords: hypebeast, smiley face, chinatown market, cactus plant flea market, kid cudi, nigo, kanye west, kids see ghost, design, behind the hype, highsnobiety, gq, vogue, vice, vox, vox explained, nike, virgil, supreme, mike cherman, travis scott, asap rocky, noisey, the fader, tyler the creator, jbalvin, takashi murakami

Id: DvZUNI_yPDg

Length: 6min 6sec (366 seconds)

Published: Tue May 05 2020