Book covers play the same role as movie titles, trailers, catch-phrases, thumbnails, and any brief introduction to a much larger story. A good book cover can entice a reader to either buy or read a book, but a great book cover can do all of that while still portraying an enticing, accurate glimpse of the story yet to unfold.
Sometimes, I look at a book cover and I get interested... so I search the book online to read for free. Sometimes, I am interested enough to buy the book flat out. I think these are the two key functions of a book cover: to convince the audience to read the book, and to convince the audience to buy the book. Oftentimes, these go hand in hand, but just as often, these goals can be accomplished disjoint of each other.
I believe both to be a form of captivation and art, but I don't see how these connect to translation, except for an abstract version of translation called art. Translation emphasizes both accuracy AND expression, whereas book covers lean further into expression, and can afford to lose or not include details of the story, since readers will read the story themselves if they choose to.
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