The emoticon history can show you where the emoticons started. Emoticons are something that many people use almost daily without thinking about their origin. When you understand how the emoticon developed, you can better understand and appreciate the emoticons you choose to use every day.
The exact character of the smiley is controversial, but it appears that a freelance animator from Massachusetts was the creator of the first smiley. This animator was Harvey Ball, and a company called State Mutual Life Assurance Corporation approached him to come up with a plan for a campaign they were having for friendship. This has encouraged employees to smile when dealing with customers and this can relieve the stress that comes with this type of business.
Ball used the original emoticon in this design and it was a circle with a yellow background. Ball created this design in minutes and was paid less than $ 50 mysmiley for the design of him. The original emoticon was not copyrighted and this made it free to be used by anyone for any purpose.
A children’s show also used the emoticon and it was their logo for a show called Funny Company. Ball said he created the first design in minutes and was paid $ 45 for it. However, neither Ball nor State Mutual Life owned a copyright on the icon, making the Smiley free for anyone.
The smiley also became a fashion statement in the 1970s and there were two brothers in Philadelphia who made some novelties from the smiley and that made them very successful in no time.
Several people have tried to protect the copyright of the smiley logo over the years and Frank Lourfrani received this copyright in the 1970s and invented Smiley World which was based on the good things and battled the negative.
At one point, Walmart also wanted to protect the emoticon’s copyright, but was ultimately denied in the copyright process. The emoticon is something that will keep updating with the times and it will be fun to see what they will do with the emoticon next. If you use emoticons frequently, you may have found that there are many versions to choose from and not only do they represent a good mood, but they can also communicate any other emotions you might be feeling and that makes the emoticon enjoyable for everyone.
