Aug 21, 09:20 PM

Trump Creates National Design Studio, Picks Airbnb Co-Founder Joe Gebbia as U.S. Chief Design Officer

U.S. President Donald Trump on 21 August signed an executive order launching the “America by Design” initiative, which creates the country’s first Chief Design Officer and establishes a National Design Studio to modernise federal digital and physical services. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia is expected to serve as Chief Design Officer, according to officials familiar with the plan. Reporting to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Gebbia will oversee a team charged with redesigning roughly 26,000 federal websites and other public-facing assets to improve usability and aesthetics. The new studio is authorised to operate for three years. During that period it will issue design standards, consolidate duplicative contracts and advise agencies on cost-saving measures, aligning with the administration’s broader drive to streamline government operations that began under the Department of Government Efficiency. Agencies must submit progress reports within 120 days and coordinate future projects with the studio’s guidelines. Funding will come from existing technology modernisation accounts; the White House did not disclose a specific budget.