About us (LLGD)

Looks Like Good Design, Looks Like Good or LLGD for short, is a design inspiration website created for the love of design. 

As per the intro, my name is Paul Holstein and I’m someone who truly loves the creative process. Not just the work itself, but also the thought behind it, the people who make it and the determination and energy it takes to keep creating.

In 2020, I sought to build something that felt more personal. A project that reflected the world I love and a project I could pour myself into. Serendipity and emails back and forth, LLGD changed hands with the goal of returning immediately to life.

It was a bit of a false start. Between learning and reworking an entire code base and CMS from scratch, raising a small human and navigating everything that comes with running a business, it took five very long years to finally relaunch this site.

During those five years, everything changed with the rise of AI.

It made me feel even more certain that this kind of space matters. A place that celebrates people. A place that promotes genuine work, shares stories and connects creatives who care.

This site is a way to keep that fire burning and the spark alive. The same one I felt when I graduated from design college with a head full of ideas and ambition. That feeling is still here and not going away. If anything, it’s stronger now.

These are still early days, a second life for the site. So while I don't have a rigid roadmap, I do have a pretty clear sense of what I want it to be.

The site will continue to evolve, though at its core, LLGD will always be a place for connection. To serve as a creative conduit that supports, advocates, promotes and engages with the creative community. LLGD is entirely driven by passion and is something I am all-in on.

What does the future hold? Here is a brief overview of the site's potential growth:

• More stories: I'd want to share interviews, not so much about 'what' someone created, but also on 'how' and 'why' they made it. I want to dive deep into the creative process, rather than just highlighting beautiful or impressive end results.
• Maybe, and I mean maybe a podcast: I truly know everyone seems to have a podcast these days, and I’m uncertain if I could create one that would truly be worthy of the talented creatives I’d like to interview. However, it would be a dream come true to have meaningful conversations if I can make something that offers real value. On a personal note, the chance to discuss creative processes and ideas with others in the field would be incredibly rewarding – How good would that be?!
• Better tools: Eventually, I would love to build a directory for design conferences. As someone who's constantly wondering where and when they are, it just makes sense.
• Partnerships: If the brand grows in the right way, I'd be excited to collaborate with other creatives, studios and thoughtful brands on meaningful projects.
• Above all, I want the site to stay curated. Always. There are great portfolio platforms out there like Behance or Dribbble, but this site isn't being like them. This is something a little slower, a little more on-purpose. It's about showcasing work that makes people feel something. That makes them think.

And selfishly, I just want to be close to this community. To be part of it. To shine a light, however small, on the people doing good work.

I think we all do right?! This site leans into humanity. It believes in kindness, inclusion and the freedom to express. Design can be joyful, provocative, political, awkward, bold, confronting, ugly, beautiful. It can push buttons or quietly make change. It shouldn't, ever be something that diminishes or marginalises a person, community or culture.

I care deeply about that. It’s how I navigate and move through the world. To this extent, I feel we need to always meet people where they are. To offer love and kindness even when it’s hard. To shift thinking through conversation, perspective, and lived experience, not confrontation and isolation.

Hate doesn’t get you very far. Love and compassion do. Even when they take more effort. Especially then.

Sure! I am not exactly sure on how but if you've got an idea, a collaboration, a resource to share or just want to pitch-in somehow, I’d love to hear from you. This is a passion project and good people make good things better.

There are a few ways to get in touch and share your project:

• Email a couple of stills and a bit of background to info@lookslikegooddesign.com
• Tag your project on Instagram or DM on socials
• Use the online portal (once it’s up and running)

A few important notes before you submit:

It can't be AI generated.
I mean, this should go without saying, AI has its place, but that place isn’t here. This site is for celebrating you and your ideas, not a remix of a million prompts mashed into one.

Keep it real
We’re here for real-world projects. A mockup or two is okay to help showcase the work, but if it’s all surface-level Photoshop, it’s probably not the right fit. Think real clients, real execution, real stories.

Tell me about your project.
I cannot stress this enough! Give your project context! Things like: What was hard about it? What made it interesting? What were the constraints? What materials did you use? What did you learn? I want to know the 'why' and the 'how', not just the 'what'. The back-story is just as important as the work itself. I find great work becomes even greater, when we know the meaning behind it.

Make sure it’s yours to share
If it’s a collaboration, celebrate the team. Credit matters. We’ll always try to do the same. And if it’s under NDA or not yet released to the public, please check before submitting. A good rule of thumb: if it’s already out in the world, you’re probably good to go. (For example: if you designed a business card with someone’s personal number on it, maybe hold off.)

You have to be proud of it
Seriously. Be fierce on this one. Send the work you love. The stuff you stand behind. This site is for standing tall and behind the work you created.

Don’t be intimidated
We all get hit with self-doubt. The 'is it good enough?” voice / imposter syndrome is real. The answer is usually yes! If it meant something to you, it’ll probably mean something to someone else. Shine a light on it. Share it. I’d love to see it.

Give me pixels!
Small images are for thumbnails. I need the good quality high-res versions (over 1600px wide is great!) in .jpeg. Not crazy .tiff or random formats.

Be cool
Please don’t send the same project 20 times. Follow-ups are welcome, but the same email 20 times is not fun for anyone. Be cool.

Yes and yes!

Creative work often has a short shelf life. We make something, it gets released into the world, and then the spotlight moves on. But that doesn’t mean the value disappears.

If you’re proud of something you made 5, 10, or even 20 years ago, let’s bring it back into the light! Some projects live on quietly in our hard drives, but they still carry meaning. They still show craft. If it mattered to you then, and it still makes you smile now, that’s all the reason we need to share it.

It’s pretty simple:

1. Does it look good?
   That’s the name of the site. It doesn’t mean 'polished' or 'perfect'. It means there’s something there. Good energy. That's the benchmark.
2. Is it credited properly and high enough quality to share?
   If it’s low-res or uncredited, it probably won’t make the cut. If it’s powerful, thoughtful, interesting or just brings a smile, we’re in good territory.

There’s no points system or secret formula. If it feels right, and it’s made with care, it’s in the running.

That would be the best! But sadly, no, that would ruin the whole spirit of this thing.  This is a passion project. If I make a few dollars through the site to help with running costs, that would be great, but paying to be featured? Not how this works. If your work is great, and you love it, and you can tell me why, then there’s a good chance it’ll get shared.

With that said, if things get busy down the track, I might consider an expedited review option just to help manage the queue, but it would never guarantee a feature.

Not directly. There’s no login area to go in and personally change things yourself. However, if you’ve been featured and need something updated, the best approach is to email through to: info@lookslikegooddesign.com and I’ll do my best to sort it out.

Same deal as above. Send an email with any updates or additions to info@lookslikegooddesign.com. It’s not a full-time operation, so it might take a few days, but I’ll always do my best to accommodate.

Absolutely. There’s no direct / live-edit public portal, but if something needs to be updated — maybe the copy doesn’t quite sit right, or you’ve got a better image you’d like to swap in, just send an email to info@lookslikegooddesign.com, or message me on socials.

I’ll always do my best to accommodate. As always, just keep it reasonable and respectful as we’re all juggling a lot.

Absolutely! It would be great if people discovered you, followed you and hopefully even work with you

Add your links when you submit your project and we’ll include them on your feature.

Yes, of course. Sometimes projects age out, situations change, or you just don’t want the work online anymore. Whatever the reason, I respect that. Send a message and I’ll take care of it.

That said, please be patient. The inbox gets a bit wild sometimes, but I prioritise removal requests and I’ll get to it as quickly as I can.

Unfortunately no, though please stay with me.

The purpose of the site is to share, celebrate, and spotlight great work. It’s a platform, not a paid gig. I completely understand your time and creativity are valuable and I’ll always do my best to credit, support, and promote the work in a meaningful way. But no, there’s no payment model attached.

Always.

Every project featured on Looks Like Good Design is credited to the person / people / agency / creative who made it. That’s really a non-negotiable. The goal here is to celebrate great work and not to pretend that it is anything other than what it is: the creators.

Is it always perfect? No, though the intent is clear and my commitment to proper credit runs deep. If anything ever looks off, just let me know and I’ll fix it.

That's not fun at all and I’ll move quickly to sort it out. This site runs on goodwill. If something’s been shared and it shouldn’t have been or if you’re just not comfortable having it up, reach out directly via info@lookslikegooddesign.com or shoot me a message on socials  and let's fix things straight away.

Not even close. The copyright always belongs to the creator. This site exists to promote and celebrate your work, not to claim ownership of it.

With care and quickly.

If there’s ever a serious copyright issue or misattribution, the first thing I’ll do is hide or remove the work from the site. From there, I’ll reach out, investigate, and make sure everything is resolved properly.

Again, this place is built on respect, for the work and for the people behind it.

No and that’s a deliberate choice.

These days, it’s getting harder to tell what’s real and what’s AI and that’s a bit unsettling and challenging. This site exists to celebrate the people behind the work. Not prompts. Not machines.

So no, we don’t feature AI-generated art. We are Looks Like Good Design, not Looks Like Good Prompt Design.

To help keep things honest, we might occasionally check your other work (via social or portfolio links) just to make sure we’re showcasing real human creativity.

It’s everywhere, encompassing and powerful and sometimes, it’s a bit terrifying.

Like most people, I use it. It’s part of the world now. Just because it exists doesn’t mean it belongs everywhere and put simply, it doesn’t belong here.

We love humans. The creative spirit and the creative endeavour. To the minds, traditions, experiences and cultures that have shaped us and we want to celebrate love, promote and record these endeavours. That's the heartbeat of design and what we're here for.

No. I don't want to. Read above my thoughts on AI. Just not something that I want to do.  This site is built around human ideas, craft, and effort. AI-generated work isn’t part of this picture.

Both.

It's a powerful tool no doubt about that. But it’s also changing the landscape in a massive way, and that shift will come at a cost. A lot of amazing creatives may get left behind. And that’s a hard truth to sit with.

It's like an oncoming storm. AI is based on the thoughts of the many amazing people that have gone before us. It's kind of like the Borg (if you watch Star Trek) 'resistance is futile'. It consumes and disregards, though I'd like to think I am Katherine Janeway (though really I am more like Harry Kim), LLGD is USS Voyager and we're pushing forward with our humanity.

Still no.

That’s kind of like playing Monopoly but using your own separate pile of money. It just doesn’t work.

Even if your project isn’t perfect, and especially if it isn’t perfect, I’d still rather see the messy, honest, human version. That’s where the soul is.

Design isn’t about flawless outcomes. It’s about process, intent, and the story behind the work. Imperfection is where the beauty lives.

For sponsored content? No. I want to keep a clean line between what's featured and why it's there, based purely on merit.

That said, there is room for paid partnerships in the right context. Things like banner space or supported resources, as long as there's a strong values match and real benefit for the creatives who visit the site.

Yes, absolutely! If the story feels right.

If your brand connects with our audience in a thoughtful, meaningful way, I’d love to explore something together. The goal is always to bring value to the creative community.

Please do! I’ve tried my best to build the site properly, but things break.

If something’s not working, loading weird, has a typo or just looks plain wrong, let me know. You can message via socials or email: info@lookslikegooddesign.com.

I’ll fix it as soon as I can. Truly appreciate the heads-up!

I spent forever writing this. So if you’ve made it all the way down here, say hi! And I genuinely hope you have a beautiful day.

One of the hardest questions I’ve faced while building this site is a simple one: does it hold up? Does the design of the site live-up to it's namesake?

The site is meant to fade into the background. If a website could be vanilla, this is the goal (perhaps I should say charcoal as a website given that the primary colour scheme is black). The work itself should be the hero. Still, it's in the name. First thing people see, and I wonder if some layout choices feel a bit ordinary. I am the first to admit that it's not perfect and that’s okay. Chasing perfect can kill good, and I’d rather have it out to the world than keep sanding the edges forever.

I’m keen for feedback, good, bad or anywhere in between. Every insight or tip helps me lift the place. Thanks – Paul