Analysing Magazines: 3-Young Money

Here I will analyse another magazine front cover. This magazine title is Young Money and its aim is to educate "College students and young adults on money management, careers, investing, financial aid and credit and debt." This magazine has been described as the "leading magazine for college students".

In contrast to Secondary Magazine, Young Money has decided to use a colourful background which is not blank or one-coloured, but shows a street and trees, implying that the woman is standing outside a college or near a housing estate. This background is important as it creates a more natural feel, as though she has been approached on the streets with a camera on her way home from college. If the background was all one colour, or blank white it would have appeared more staged and obviously planned.

The white shirt she is wearing reinforces the educational ideology of a uniform, we immediately associate her as a student. The shirt also makes her stand out, as the white is a contrast to the darker background. Her shirt is unbuttoned, her collar is slightly up and she is wearing a stylish belt and necklace. These all create a more appealing cover for younger people, this is more socially acceptable and also suggests that she has finished her day at college and the smile and active face suggests she may be ready to go shopping; which relates to the aim of the page, money management.

Similar to DisCover magazine, Young Money has a central image of a visually attractive woman. The woman is posing for the picture, smiling and is young. The womans hair is straight, tidy and well-kept creating a more eye-catching picture. Her hair is also slightly wind-swept to show that she is outside.

Language is important in the text for the following reasons. The magazine title Young Money immeadiately targets young people who are perhaps having difficulty managing their money. The text your life, right now also targets the reader straight away, directly making the reader feel involved. The title page shows several purposes of the magazine, "Car Sharing Comes to Campus" tells the reader that the magazine will address managing money to buy cars for college. The use of another person, directly named "Jenna Lee", could perhaps show celebrity status at the college, improving the ideology of the magazine. At the bottom of the page there is a website address www.youngmoney.com and a price, $3.95 and a date. This text is in small font because it is not as important for the magazine, however needs to be on the page.