Some Principles:

Stances on what constitutes a “good” text, design, etc. are at some point downstream of an economic perspective. This includes my own.
Play is speculative and transformative. It is useful to distinguish text from play.
It is true that art is subjective. Subjectivity is a starting point, not a point of closure.
Similarly, art is complicated. Complication is a starting point, not a point of closure.
The aesthetic trappings of authenticity are worth interrogating, wherever they arise.
The value of applying a perspective or framework to a text is to see an output. There is value in multiple outputs.
Intent is nothing. When it is valuable to talk about an author, there are other ways to do so.
Any subject can be made part of a work. How well the work does by that subject is still worth thinking through.
To be critical of something can be an act of respect. It can also be an act done in frustration, disgust, sheer curiosity. These will often look very similar, and are not exclusive of each other. It is important to recognize and clarify from whence the critique arises.

These are ideas I aim to guide myself with as I undertake further critical writing projects on this blog. I put them here as a reminder to myself and as reference for the curious.