[subject] + [verb] + 起来 + [adjective]
看起来 / 说起来,[clause]
A verb + 起来 + adjective judges something by doing one thing with it: looking at it, hearing it, eating it, using it. The subject is the thing judged, and the verb names the angle.
English splits this between "looks", "sounds" and "is … to use". Chinese has one frame for all of them, with any verb that fits.
看起来 and 听起来 report how things appear, without claiming that is how they are. 看起来 can also open the sentence before a clause.
看来 without 起来 draws a conclusion from evidence ("so it seems"), where 看起来 describes appearance. The two have their own comparison.
说起来 + adjective and 做起来 + adjective set the idea against the practice. 说起来容易,做起来难 is a set saying.
At the start of a sentence, 说起来 also means "come to think of it".
The subject of 看起来 is what is seen, not who sees it. To put yourself in, use 我看 instead.
Verb + 起来 also means "start doing" (她笑起来了), which is a separate point.