Row of colorful marbled hardcover book spines standing upright on a shelf.

The Surprise

+rosebud no.8

+rosebud no.8 – The surprise is the final issue of +rosebud magazine. The bibliophilically designed and produced book marks the conclusion of a series whose leitmotiv, for more than 20 years, outside of genre boundaries, explores the possibilities of the medium of paper and develops it experimentally.

Dark slide with German title 'Die Chance der Störung' and text about innovation by Wolf Lotter; unicorn emoji

Central to the book is an essay by the author and journalist Wolf Lotter on innovation and creativity as the main drivers of digital society. The surprise is an appeal for a culture of curiosity, for less safety thinking and more self-determination. The »surprise-ability« thus gained becomes the decisive factor for the correct understanding of the world of tomorrow.

German book cover with orange-green marbled design; title Die Überraschung across the top
Open two-page book spread with blank white pages; right page displays +rosebud no.8, left page contains a small footnote paragraph
Open book, right-hand title page showing German title "DIE ÜBERRASCHUNG oder Die Chance der Störung" with author credits.
Two-page spread of an open book: left page dense German text, right page shows three italicized German quotes with attributions.
German table of contents page titled Inhalt showing sections I–XIII with dotted leaders and page numbers.
Open book with a blank left page; right page features the heading INTERESSANTE ZEITEN and a German paragraph.
Open two-page spread of a German book with dense paragraphs, pages 2 and 3.
Two-page spread of an open book; left page shows a German article, right page a flowchart diagram with German text.
Open book: left page shows circular elevator floor buttons (29–40, G); right page displays German chapter title 'DAS WESEN DER ÜBERRASCHUNG'.
Open two-page spread of a book with dense German text.
Magazine spread showing 'Reading Machine' article on left and a hand-held device photo on right, with a circular portrait of a man.
Open two-page book spread with German text, pages 36 and 37.
Open book with white pages; angel emoji on left page and red devil emoji on right page.
Open German book spread showing page 46 with a black-and-white cartoon of two men at a desk with a laptop; page 47 is filled with German text.
Open book spread with German text on pages 50–51; bottom-left inset images show a guitarist and a bull.
Open book two-page spread with the title Der Dämon des Plans and German text, pages 66–67.
Open two-page book spread with German text; a red capsule lies on the left page and a blue capsule on the right page.
Two-page spread from a German book with beige redaction bars obscuring words on pages 84 and 85.
Open book spread with tiny red rose motifs on pages 120 and 121.
Open book spread; left page displays the title VORWORT, EDITORISCHE NOTIZ UND EPILOG (p. 122), right page shows dense German text (p. 123).
Two-page catalog spread showing product thumbnails and German captions, on a white background.
Beige hardcover book lying open on a collage of magazine pages forming a colorful backdrop.
Großes silbernes Metallpaket mit rotem Etikett auf einer Collage aus Zeitungs- und Magazinseiten.
Open book with two pages; right page shows vertical title FOREWORD, EDITORIAL NOTE AND EPILOGUE, left page contains dense text.
Open book on white background with left page displaying upside-down text 'THE SURPRISE'.
Angel emoji above a blurred circle on the left; devil emoji above a blurred circle on the right, on a white background.
Web design collage with swirling green marble background and layered panels; center card displays Die Überraschung
Portrait of journalist and author Wolf Lotter with hand on chin, beside the 'Der Autor' heading and a row of colorful book spines.
Webpage screenshot displaying a German article titled 'Die Chance der Störung' with body text and a mosaic of marbled book covers.
A mosaic of marbled-pattern book covers in varied colors, arranged in a grid on a dark background.

The text is accompanied by 55 obvious, partly visual digressions, which comment on the many facets of the topic profoundly and lightly. The presentation of + rosebud no.8 is program: Included in 42 different colored, hand-made marble papers with silver title embossing, promises even the purchase of a highly individual surprise moment—which variant one finally holds in his_her hands, is left to chance.

Wooden sign plaque with brass plate reading 'SELBSTÄNDIGKEIT MACHT SCHLAU' on a white background.
Gold-colored metal bar with raised script, placed on a scratched gray workbench.
Beige cardboard panel with an embossed rectangular label reading 'Die Übernachtung'.
Stack of colorful quilting fabric squares arranged into a pyramid on a white table.
Two office workers in a meeting discuss big changes; caption says changes where decisions are made but nothing happens.
Cartoon illustration inside an open book: two people at a desk in an office, one seated, the other standing with papers.
Page from a German-language book with large serif text; two small running-figure doodles along the right margin.
Open book on white surface showing a turquoise circle pie chart with an orange wedge, titled Antikomplexes Tortendiagramm.
Open book with a wooden plaque reading 'SELBSTÄNDIGKEIT MACHT SCHLAU' on the left page.
Multicolored speckled panels stacked on a wooden pallet in a warehouse
Close-up of a marbled green book cover with red and gold veins, diagonal black stripe, on a gray surface.
Snow globe on dark base, grayscale hand raised inside a snowy landscape beneath the glass sphere.
Raised grayscale fist against lime background with neon-green lightning bolt and two circular energy icons.