President Trump selected Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia this week as the U.S.’s first chief design officer as part of the administration’s push to update the federal government’s design language to be both “usable and beautiful.”
Gebbia, who joined the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year and is on the board of Tesla, said Saturday that his directive is to improve the government’s services to be as “satisfying to use as the Apple Store: beautifully designed, great user experience, run on modern software.”
“An experience that projects a level of excellence for our nation, and makes life less complicated for everyday Americans,” the billionaire entrepreneur said in a post on social platform X.
Gebbia will lead the newly created National Design Studio that will work on making digital services at various federal government agencies more efficient. Trump created the National Design Studio in his Thursday executive order, saying that the new body will advise agencies on how to “reduce duplicative design costs, use standardized design to enhance the public’s trust in high-impact service providers and dramatically improve the quality of experiences offered to the American public.”
Gebbia, who will help “recruit top creative talent, coordinate with executive departments and agencies (agencies) and devise innovative solutions” in his new role, according to Trump’s executive order, will report to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
The heads of government will “consult” with Gebbia to “implement the America by Design initiative at their respective agencies and shall produce initial results” by July 4, 2026, the executive order said.
The studio will close down in three years, according to the order.
Gebbia thanked Trump and his administration Saturday for “creating this vision, and supporting America by Design (@americabydesign).”
I will do my best to make the U.S. the most beautiful, and useable, country in the digital world,” he added.
