DESIGN BOARDS

I've been looking for examples of design boards that illustrators have sent to publishers but can't find ANY! All I can find are last year's students' ones. Are they actually used to pitch books to clients in the 'real world'? I'm so curious to see how 'real' illustrators do this! I will keep trying to track one down.

What I did find are these boards FROM the publishers themselves used to promote/advertise upcoming book releases.

I know we were told to keep it simple but we are illustrators! We speak visually! A boring presentation board means a boring idea to me! I reckon the boards need AT LEAST SOMETHING to tie themselves to the proposed product - whether that's matching type, colours, or a small character/motif that appears on the board somewhere.

The coloured background on the example above from Nosy Crow works so well to draw the viewer into the pages of Neon Leon and gives the book a background rather than sitting flat against hard white, bringing it closer to the viewer.

This is CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING so should the design boards pitch to children as well as publishers/clients? Should the boards maintain the tone of the book?

I think they should. The design boards would be harmonious with the product if they did so, making a consistent project. 

This background SURELY should be distracting! There is so much going on on this board but since there is no type other than that on the books themselves, and the backdrop is faded/lower in opacity, it's actually not as crazy as it could be.

Again, the backdrop on this one suits the tone of the books - furthering the message that these books are about adventure, nature and exploration.

Not having ANY TYPE at all lets the products speak for themselves. Leaving out the text makes the boards less cluttered and also takes away any underlying agenda - no one is telling the viewer to buy these books, or where to find them, or that they need to read them. The presentation boards here do just that, present the books and the books alone.