Further research into an illustrator's accessibility to set design...

There are examples such as Lion King The Musical, that involves what looks like either a backdrop with or projections of naive illustrations. However, these were probably drawn by the set designer, Richard Hudson, himself rather than employing an illustrator. 

Set Designs by Artists....

David Hockney- Die Frau Ohne Schatten (1992/93)

Examples of Pablo Picasso's set designs.

Evidently, neither Hockney nor Picasso, started off from a theatre design education, yet their interpretation of text can be applied to a Theatre context. It appears they bring a fresh and abstract approach to the practice that would be appreciated by a wide audience. Both fine artists by profession, they may have conceived these commissions as installations that just happen to be used for the purpose of Theatre performance.  An Illustrator has more of a commercial and instant delivery of image. Therefore surely their approach of set design would be to interpret the themes and narrative of the text to promote or enlighten an audience.

Then there are artists that have taken a more commercial outlook on set design such as Davy and Kirstin McQuire, who have constructed paper installations in which they project the performers onto the sets themselves. These have been used by corporations such as Elle Magazine China in a fashion context.

Alchimie de Courvoisier - Projected Paper Diorama from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.

Illustrative set designer has also been adopted by Anya Hindmarsh in her Spring 2013 Fantasia Fashion show (see below). This is yet another example of how Illustrative set design is applied more to the retail and fashion markets than the theatre market.

To me, small scale set design appears to be more accessible to illustrators, especially someone like me who is trying to blur the boundaries between Illustration and Set Design. As a secondary project within this unit, I think it would be interesting to create set designs that could would be suited more to a retail and print publication market.