WORCESTER, Mass. — Shrewsbury native Liam Monahan was honored by the Worcester Historical Museum as the winner of the Harvey Ball 100th Birthday Commemorative Logo Contest.

While Monahan wouldn’t call himself an artist, he took classes throughout high school and enjoys the craft. He saw the listing for the contest in the Worcester Historical Museum’s newsletter and found the opportunity as a perfect space to be creative.

“I also really enjoy history,” Monahan said. “I think it would be cool to contribute to Worcester history.”

In 1963, Worcester’s Harvey Ball was hired by an insurance company to create a morale-boosting icon for employees. Neither the company nor Ball — who was only paid $45, or about $375 in today’s dollars for his services — ever trademarked the logo, allowing the image to go viral globally.

Monahan’s submission wasn’t his first idea. He bounced around the idea of working with balloons for the logo, but Monahan didn’t like how that looked.

Instead, Monahan landed on making the 100 as glasses that the smiley wears, which he called “similar to the glasses you see on New Years Eve.” He says the logo is simple and joyful.

“That’s something we need right now,” Monahan said. “Of course we’re celebrating history, but the celebration is also a happy event for everyone to attend. I’m excited for that opportunity.”

Monahan’s logo was chosen by a selection committee, and they awarded him with a $250 prize. 

“The 100 glasses give the smiley an older, more distinguished look,” the selection committee said in a press release.

Monahan’s design, which he wanted to keep simple, also incorporates Harvey Ball’s original smiley face, small ovalular eyes and the different thicknesses of its eyes and mouth.

“I wanted to draw the smiley similar to the original design, which is not perfect because it was hand drawn,” Monahan said. “It’s not exactly symmetrical — one eye’s bigger than the other —to really connect it to Harvey Ball’s.”

His updated design was printed on pins for the Harvey Ball 100th Birthday Celebration in Worcester. Monahan is a recent graduate of Northeastern University, where he studied political science and is now working toward his master’s in public administration.