OUGD504 - Target Audience Research - Analysis of Books on the Subject

Gardeners World Magazine: 101 Ideas for a Wildlife - Friendly Garden by Michael Lavelle 

The book aims to encourage the whole family with simple activities for a range of ages. The book is predominantly written for adults although has suggestions for ways of getting children involved with nature, suggesting it would be bought by people with young families. The suggestions within the book can be used in any size garden and are feasible for people with little understanding of gardening and can be adapted or used in a range of different sized gardens.The book is affiliated with Gardeners World which is for keen amateur gardeners looking for tips and advice on how to improve and develop their garden.

The guide acts as a source of inspiration rather than a directly telling the reader how to do the tasks and the exact final outcome. The lack of exact instruction allows people to adapt the tasks to what is appropriate for their own garden or what there skill level is. The book also has extra tips which provide practical solutions to problems and dangers that may arise as well as how to improve the tasks. 

The book is a quick use guide with limited text to explain each task and places individual tasks across a double spread to keep it clear. The ideas are simple which need no previous knowledge to be able to do. Each task lists what will be needed however the body text of the task is not highly instructional, instead it describes why the task is important or what it replicates from the wildlife, then briefly explains what to do. This book uses more focussed content and is not as indepth when compared with other examples. The sections on planting puts individual plants on a double page spread. Initial paragraphs are specific to the plant however the rest of the content on these pages feels repetitive across the different pages as it is explained that many of them are good for butterflies and bees. Possibly it is not necessary to have individual plants per page instead condensing the information.  

The book is broken into sections, planting, habitats, shelter and water. Although it is obvious that there are different sections in terms of theme, there is nothing to physically divide the sections, instead they just continue from one to next.

The layout on each page uses the same structure with a coloured strip identifying the things needed for the task, whilst the succinct main text is divided between two columns creating a consistent an easily understandable layout. Each page also has a tip which indicates dangers or how to improve the task.

The book is in a small square format making it a handy guide size with only key information. The paperback is perfectly bound making it cheap to mass produce. The stock inside is coated paper which makes the images more vibrant whilst the front cover has a gloss finish making the image shiny.

The cover uses only a singular image of a frog in its natural habitat which clearly suggest that the book is about wildlife. Placing the red title on the green image does not stand out as well as the white making the main title harder to read.

Images within the book are full bleed and close ups of the subject, which clearly show the aim of the project and what it could look like. These large images visually explain each project making it easy to flick through the book and choose a project without the need to read anything.

Wildlife Habitats for your Garden by Josie Briggs

The book appeals to a young adult amateur audience with some previous gardening knowledge. The publisher is Guild of Master Craftsman (GMC), who create books that are used by professionals and amateurs covering subjects such as DIY, crafts and gardening. The type of books they write suggests their readers are often creative and design led meaning the illustrative approach is appropriate for them. Their books range from how to's for beginners and technique based titles. The aim of the books are to be practical but also beautiful to look at.

The book breaks content down into different types of habitats so similar information is grouped together over a number of pages. It also gives background insight into each habitat then how this can be brought into the garden. The use of coloured coded boxes highlights interesting information e.g. green boxes represent Did You Know? information. Lines between columns emphasise the seperations more. At the beginning of each section there is a large double page spread with a full bleed image on one side with the title and brief description on other. The colours used behind the text ties in with colours used within the contents and page tabs, creating visual consistency. Every page in each section has a tab the same colour, so when the book is closed the coloured tabs can be seen allowing for easy identification of sections when the book is closed. 

The use of tables within the book, provides a simple way of explaining information. The layout is easy to read and breaks down the information into sections for comparison.

The typography on the cover has a textured effect which creates a rough wood finish creating a natural feeling. The title has a glossy finish which contrasts against the matt surface of the rest of the cover. The spine also does this making it shine on shelf. A matt stock is used inside with a smooth textured surface creating a natural feeling.

The cover uses contemporary nature inspired illustrations which are appealing to a younger adult audience. The colourful cover and spine stands out when compared with other books that use mostly photographic images and use predominantly red and green colour schemes. 

The book uses a mix of illustrations, photos and charts to display information in different ways. The charts help to show lots of similar information (e.g. types of trees) in a functional way. This information would otherwise be long winded if written in a paragraph and not as effectively understood. The images have brief descriptions underneath telling the reader what they are good for, allowing understanding from only visual snippets. 

Garden Wildlife: How to attract bees, butterflies, insects, birds, frogs and animals into your backyard by Christine and Michael Lavelle

The book is aimed at an adult amateur gardening audience with some previous knowledge. The inclusion of step by step guides on how to complete tasks allows for readers to follow the process rather than assuming they know how to do it. The book also contains designing elements which suggest that it is for  people wanting to know more about wildlife gardening and make larger changes within their garden space. The designs within the book take into account the need of both humans and encourage wildlife, appealing to a range of garden spaces.

The book is in depth explaining different aspects of a particular habitat or technique. It discusses all aspects of wildlife gardening and natural habitats and creating, designing and maintaining them making it a more rounded book on wildlife gardening. It combines multiple activities on a spread around the same subject rather than splitting them up into individual activities. The descriptions are more thorough and show how to maintain as well as create habitats, helping with the long term upkeep of gardening.

Within the book different types of boxes are used to indicate different types of information e.g green boxes highlight and explain specific examples (e.g plants to use) or key information. Having larger pages means that each double page spread contains all the information about a specific aspect of gardening or habitat.

The cover has internal folded flaps allowing information to be presented about the purpose of the book in the front and about the author in the back where the extra information can be hidden. Having folded flaps means the cover can be printed on only on one side as a larger piece then folded down, reducing costs as double sided printing is not needed.

The book uses FSC paper (Forest Stewardship Council) which promotes responsible management of forests and sustainably grows trees for publications and other purposes.

The cover combines multiple imagery showing various tasks and wildlife that the book will talk about and uses a modular grid system. 

Images inside the book show projects in context, with examples from a range of gardens allowing inspiration to be taken from a variety of places. Photographs also visually illustrate instructions making them easier to follow. Using lots of imagery for each section shows how each aspect can benefit wildlife in different ways.