On August 21st, President Trump of the United States announced the establishment of the “National Design Studio” and appointed Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, as the Chief Design Officer. Gebbia expressed his goal of improving government websites to provide user experiences similar to the satisfaction of Apple’s App Store.
For a long time, many U.S. government websites have been designed by the lowest bidders, resulting in difficult website navigation and lack of significant updates over the years.
David Sacks, the White House AI and cryptocurrency policy lead, stated that Gebbia will oversee the redesign of 26,000 federal websites to offer better services to Americans who receive social security benefits, veterans, and all citizens. He mentioned that many of these websites are outdated.
Gebbia stated on Saturday, August 23rd, that his aim is to make government websites both visually appealing and modern, delivering a smooth and excellent user experience.
“My mission is to upgrade existing government services to make people as satisfied using them as they are with Apple Store: exquisite design, excellent user experience, and modern software technology. This experience will showcase the nation’s excellence and make the lives of American citizens more convenient,” Gebbia said.
“I want to thank President Trump and the government for presenting this vision, supporting America through ‘Design America’ (@americabydesign). I will do my utmost to make America the most aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly country in the digital world.”
On Thursday, August 21st, Trump signed an executive order to establish the “National Design Studio” to enhance the “usability” and “aesthetics” of federal digital services. The studio will provide recommendations to agencies, assist in reducing redesign costs, and adopt a unified design for government websites accessible to the public.
The order specifies that the studio will operate for a period of three years.
Gebbia has previously led the reform of the federal human resources agency in restructuring federal retirement processes.
According to Reuters, citing officials familiar with the plan, the newly established studio is a downsized version of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Gebbia’s focus will be on addressing issues with the Internal Revenue Service website.
(Translated and rewritten based on Reuters report)