You’ve seen it everywhere. It's on a beat-up skater hoodie in a thrift store. It’s a tiny sticker on the back of a MacBook Pro. It shows up in high-end streetwear and bottom-shelf bodega bags. The black and white smiley face is arguably the most resilient graphic in history. It doesn't need the flashy yellow neon of its 1970s ancestor to make a point. In fact, stripping away the color makes it something else entirely—something a bit more "street," a bit more cynical, and way more versatile.
It’s just two dots and a curve. That's it.
Yet, for some reason, we can't stop looking at it. Designers like Virgil Abloh and brands like Chinatown Market (now Market) have leaned heavily into this monochrome aesthetic because it bridges the gap between childhood innocence and adult irony. It’s the visual equivalent of a shrug. It says "I’m happy, I guess," or "everything is fine," even when the world feels like it's melting.
Where the monochrome grin actually came from
Most people think the smiley face started with Forrest Gump or some 90s rave poster. Not quite. The "classic" yellow smiley was famously refined by Harvey Ball in 1963 for a life insurance company. He was paid $45 for it. He never trademarked it. But the black and white smiley face—the high-contrast version we see today—traces its DNA more closely to the post-punk and grunge movements of the 80s and 90s.
When Nirvana used a "dead" smiley with X-eyes on their shirts, they effectively killed the sunshine-yellow optimism of the 70s. By removing the color, the icon stopped being a corporate "have a nice day" tool and started being a badge of counter-culture. If you saw a black and white smiley on a flyer in London in 1988, you weren't going to a corporate retreat. You were going to a warehouse rave where the bass was loud enough to rattle your teeth.
👉 See also: How Do You Say Jack in Spanish? It Depends on What You’re Lifting
The simplicity is the point. High contrast. Black ink on white paper. It was cheap to print on a Xerox machine. This DIY ethos is why the black and white version stuck around in the underground long after the yellow one became a "Walmart" thing.
The psychology of high-contrast visuals
Why does a black and white smiley face feel different than a yellow one? Color theory tells us that yellow is energetic and anxious. Black and white, however, is binary. It’s authoritative. Research into infant vision actually shows that we are hardwired to respond to high-contrast black and white patterns before we can even process colors like red or green. It is the most "readable" thing the human eye can encounter.
When you look at a black smile on a white background, your brain registers "face" instantly. There is no noise. No distraction. Just the core emotion of the shape.
Why modern fashion is obsessed with it
Walk into a Dover Street Market or browse Grailed. You’ll find the black and white smiley face everywhere. But it’s rarely "pure."
- The Melting Smile: Seen in various streetwear drops, where the black lines drip like wet paint.
- The Triple Eye: A surrealist take that moves the icon from "happy" to "hallucinogenic."
- The Logo Mashup: Brands often shove their own initials into the eyes of the black and white face.
Basically, the monochrome version acts as a blank canvas. It’s the "Little Black Dress" of graphic design. You can dress it up or down. It works on a $500 cashmere sweater just as well as it works on a $2 button from a local band's merch table.
Honestly, the fashion world loves it because it’s "safe-edgy." It’s recognizable enough to be a commercial hit but simple enough to feel like it belongs to the streets. Think about the brand Drew House (Justin Bieber's label). Their core logo is essentially a smiley face with the word "drew" as the mouth. While they use yellow, their black and white variants often sell out faster because they’re easier to style with a wardrobe that isn't neon-colored.
The Digital Renaissance: From ASCII to Emojis
We can't talk about this without mentioning the shift to digital. Before we had high-res emojis, we had :).
That is the original black and white smiley face. It’s text. It’s data.
In the early days of the internet, the smiley was a necessity to prevent people from thinking you were being a jerk in an email. Without tone of voice, a simple "Fine" sounds aggressive. Add a black and white :) and suddenly you’re a human being again. Scott Fahlman, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon, is generally credited with proposing the use of the colon, hyphen, and parenthesis as a "joke marker" in 1982.
✨ Don't miss: Why Your Spring and Summer Images Usually Look Boring (And How to Fix It)
He didn't use yellow. He used the black text on the white background of a terminal screen.
It's not just about being "Happy"
There’s a darker side to the black and white smiley face. In pop culture, specifically in the Watchmen graphic novel (though the badge there is famously yellow with a splash of red blood), the smiley face represents a mask. When you strip the color away, the smile can start to look like a sneer or a haunting mask of forced positivity.
Artists like Banksy have used monochrome faces to critique surveillance and the "polite" facade of authority. A black and white face on a riot shield or a CCTV camera changes the meaning entirely. It becomes a commentary on the "don't worry, be happy" mandate that many feel is forced upon them by a consumerist society.
It’s the "Hide the Pain Harold" of icons.
Does it still rank in design trends?
Yes. Minimalism is still king. As of 2026, we are seeing a massive "re-humanizing" of tech brands. After years of bubbly, colorful "Corporate Memphis" illustrations, companies are returning to starker, more "authentic" hand-drawn looks. The black and white smiley face fits this perfectly. It looks like it was drawn by a person, not a generative AI algorithm—even if it actually was.
💡 You might also like: Why Whether You Know It Or Not Is Actually Your Biggest Blind Spot
How to use this icon in your own life or brand
If you're thinking about slapping a black and white smiley face on a project, don't just use a stock vector. Everyone does that. It’s boring.
- Vary the weight: A thick, chunky black line feels "pop art." A thin, spindly line feels "indie" and "skater."
- Embrace imperfection: If the circles aren't perfectly round, it feels more human. People crave the "analog" feel in a digital world.
- Context matters: Putting a smiley face on something inherently sad or clinical (like a bill or a medical form) creates a "dissonance" that people find funny or memorable.
It's kinda wild that a shape a five-year-old can draw is still a multi-million dollar asset for global brands. But that’s the power of the icon. It’s the shortest distance between two points: your eyes and a feeling.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to integrate this aesthetic into your own branding or personal style, start small. Look for "hand-drawn" variations rather than perfect geometric circles. High-contrast imagery works best when it has room to breathe, so avoid cluttering the area around the face. If you are designing for print, remember that black ink on white stock is the most cost-effective way to create a "premium" feel if the paper quality is high. Finally, check trademark databases if you plan on selling merchandise; while the "smiley" concept is broadly used, specific stylized versions (like the Smiley Company's specific proportions) are heavily protected. Stick to your own unique hand-drawn version to stay safe and authentic.