KENNESAW, Ga. | May 22, 2025

An illustration in his ongoing graphic narrative project has earned Kennesaw State University faculty member Geo Sipp the Merit Award for Illustration from the Art Directors Club (ADC), a global arts organization.

Sipp, Director of the School of Art and Design in the Geer College of the Arts, is being honored in the Self-Promotion category for his illustration, “The Milk Bar,” a part of his wordless in progress graphic novel “Wolves in the City.”

“To be recognized by your peers–it's very gratifying,” Sipp said. “That's very affirming and it makes me feel as though I’m part of the game.”

The ADC Awards have celebrated artistry in design and advertising for over a century and are among the most prestigious international honors in the creative industry. The awards encompass 19 disciplines and several creative communities from graphic design, advertising, television, and the commercial environment.

Sipp has been illustrating for more than 40 years and recalls the early days of his career and what led to him coming to academia.

“I went to grad school to pursue my own artistic interests, because I'd been solving everybody else's commercial visual problems for years,” Sipp recalled. “Photoshop was taking over everything at that time and it was sort of a one stop shop. It was time for me to step back and reevaluate at that point in time, and I’ve enjoyed the journey since.”

The award reinforces his connection to his peers, both in the professional world and at the University.

“In the School of Art and Design, I think it's important to show my colleagues that I'm also doing the work they’re doing,” Sipp said. “It’s cool that we get to do this for a living.”

“Wolves in the City” is a wordless graphic novel, designed to allow readers to create their own dialogue and bring their own emotional experiences to the story.

“My work is not decorative,” Sipp said. “It’s not really the kind of work that would comfortably hang in somebody's living room, necessarily—but that's not the intent of it, either. It's to get you to think and engage. So, it is very much editorial in its content.”

In addition to the ADC honor, two of Sipp’s illustrations were selected for inclusion in American Illustration 44, a publication considered an international record of top contemporary image makers.

– Story by Darius Goodman

Photo by Judith Pishnery

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.