For the first installment of a new series, I asked four book designers to discuss recent examples of their work. Each designer shared an earlier idea for a cover as well as the final design that ended up on the book.

Gabriele Wilson described the process she went through after deciding to use a single piano key on the cover of William H. Gass’s novel “Middle C”:

I asked piano-playing friends and piano repair shops in New York for a C key, to no avail. I called Steinway & Sons on 57th Street, and they connected me with Anthony Gilroy at their Queens factory. He was perplexed but entertained by the idea of shipping a single key to Manhattan. The next day I received a beautifully hand-carved ivory key, but I discovered that a full-size key is nearly two feet long. I called Anthony again to see if the factory could cut it shorter and add a black C sharp key. I photographed them from above on a giant turquoise Pantone swatch, aiming to give the ensemble a menacing, lonely mood.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/14/book-covers-before-and-after/