On August 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create the “America by Design” program, an initiative aimed at modernizing government digital services and improving the citizen experience. As part of this order, the new National Design Studio was established, an entity reporting directly to the Executive Office of the President. Its mission is to redesign more than 26,000 federal websites that are currently outdated or poorly functional.
To lead this ambitious project, Trump appointed Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, as the nation’s first Chief Design Officer, who officially assumed the role on August 21. Gebbia’s mandate includes transforming digital interactions with key institutions such as the IRS, Social Security, and the passport systems, by standardizing interfaces, reducing cost duplication, and delivering services with a modern, efficient, and user-friendly design.
According to Gebbia himself, the goal is for citizens to feel that using a government portal is “as pleasant as walking into an Apple Store” — with updated software, simplified interfaces, and an experience designed to eliminate digital pain points.
The National Design Studio will operate under a limited timeline, with a mandate to deliver visible results before July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. It is expected to function for three years before being dissolved. Gebbia, who stepped down from operational roles at Airbnb in 2022, had already collaborated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) spearheaded by Elon Musk, contributing to the modernization of federal processes such as the retirement system, which positioned him as a figure with hands-on experience in redesigning complex bureaucracies.
Although he previously criticized some of Trump’s policies, Gebbia has recently shown greater alignment with the Republican Party and affirms that his commitment is to bring government technology up to the level of the private sector’s best practices.
