President Trump Appoints Joe Gebbia as U.S. Chief Design Officer

U.S. President Donald Trump has appointed Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia as the nation's first Chief Design Officer (CDO). Gebbia's mission is to modernize outdated public service websites and transform them into user-friendly platforms. He will lead the newly formed U.S. National Design Studio (NDS), a streamlined version of the previously established Department of Government Efficiency.

Gebbia, who recently turned 44, called the appointment his "greatest birthday gift," stating that he aims to make government websites as seamless as an "Apple Store experience." He told Axios that he wants to create sites that are "beautifully designed, have a great user experience, and run on modern software."

Arguing that government websites serve as the "front door to the government" for most Americans, Gebbia believes their confusing and outdated nature is an "injustice." He stressed that there's no reason the government can't set the standard for great design.

Trump created the CDO role through an executive order titled “Improving Our Nation Through Better Design.” The initiative, called America by Design, is built on three main principles:

• Recruiting top creative talent from the private sector.

• Establishing a unified national design language that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

• Creating the National Design Studio within the White House to standardize design, prevent duplicated efforts, and build public trust in government services.
  
  

  Gebbia compared the initiative to "hospitality design for our nation," noting that he and President Trump share an "obsession with details." He concluded by saying, "As two hospitality guys, we anticipate the needs of our guests—this time, the guests are the American people."