I’m more excited than I should be about getting my invite to Pinterest–the new, visual social media site that everyone’s talking about. I even liked the fact that they make you wait to join–a bit like Google+ but with more of an authentic feel–and it’s fascinating how they’ve taken a different, visual approach to social sharing.

I was thinking about how publishers might use Pinterest–what is the most visual representation of our products?– and immediately thought about cover design. As a veteran of the “cover wars” in more than one publishing role–you know, the ongoing  discussion about packaging between design, marketing, sales, editorial, and the author (did I get everyone?)–I’ve come to believe deeply that good design matters. It’s where the consumer makes the first connection to a book. And of course that’s even more the case online.

For a while, it seemed like eBooks might mean the end of creative cover design for books–after all, is a cover really embossed if no one can touch it? So why bother with effects and special treatments? And perhaps there’s a degree of truth to that. But one thing Pinterest shows is that people have an emotional response to imagery. A great cover design communicates something about the content of the book, the perspective of the author, and appeals to that emotional response–even if the reader isn’t holding the book in her hand.

So, with that in mind, I was pleased to see the book cover from Hosseini’s The Kite Runner on my Pinboard the other day. That single image inspired many admiring comments about the book. I was curious, so I searched the title–and found hundreds of pinned and repinned cover images, likes, and comments about both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Pinterest reinforces that effective cover design isn’t only important in the physical world. We’ll see what happens as Pinterest grows beyond 10 million users, but I’d be advising authors to pay attention. When social lets consumers connect with appealing design, there are powerful forces at work–how exciting would it be for fans of The Kite Runner to see Hosseini comment on one of their pinned images? And how likely would that fan be to recommend the book even more enthusiastically? Effective cover design can help make that connection.