New Federal UX Head Joe Gebbia to Tackle Government Websites

President Donald Trump has tapped Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia as the nation’s first chief design officer, following last week’s executive order to revamp user experience across government.

Gebbia said he is “honored to be appointed by President Trump as the first Chief Design Officer of the United States of America,” from his personal X account. Gebbia added that his directive is to “update today’s government services to be as satisfying to use as the Apple Store: beautifully designed, great user experience, run on modern software.”

Gebbia previously served the Trump administration as a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he championed efforts to fully digitize the Office of Personnel Management’s paper-based retirement application system and coordinated with leaders inside the General Services Administration.

In the post he touted bringing his “designer brain and start-up spirit into the government.”

In his new role, Gebbia will lead the National Design Studio (NDS), created under the executive order and housed within the Executive Office of the President. The NDS is tasked with streamlining government services and recruiting top creative talent to drive innovation, according to the order.

Lee Becker, senior vice president and executive advisor, public sector and healthcare at Medallia and former chief of staff for the VEO from 2016 to 2020, told GovCIO Media & Research in an interview that Gebbia’s experience at Airbnb could drive his tenure at the White House.

“[Airbnb is] noted to integrate feedback as part of the way they operate. They don’t just design things for the sake of designing things,” Becker said. “[They’re] going to make sure that [they] bring the customer front and center in everything [they] do.”

Becker added that a human-centered design approach will be critical for Gebbia to apply across all levels of government-operated user experience.

“You’ve got to start with understanding what the customer’s needs are. Then you have to have the ability to not only measure, but continuously listen to your customers, and this has to be done in real time. This can’t be something that you do once a year,” Becker said.