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US President Donald Trump's newly appointed Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia will lead the new Design Studio, aiming to modernise 26,000 federal websites with better design, usability, and user experience over three years.
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia (Photo: Reuters)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 24, 2025 05:29 IST
US President Donald Trump's newly appointed design chief announced plans to make government services as seamless and user-friendly as the Apple App Store.
Trump has selected Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to lead the Design Studio, an initiative aimed at enhancing the digital efficiency of federal agencies.
Posting on X on Saturday, Gebbia shared his goal to deliver “beautifully designed” government websites using modern software and an excellent user experience. "An experience that projects a level of excellence for our nation, and makes life less complicated for everyday Americans," he said.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create the design studio, which a source familiar with the plan described as a scaled-back version of the former Department of Government Efficiency, previously led by Elon Musk.
Gebbia, who has already worked on improving the federal retirement process within the human resources agency, has now taken on the role of chief design officer. A government official told Reuters that one of the studio’s key focusses would be resolving issues within the Internal Revenue Service.
STUDIO TO OVERSEE REDESIGN OF FEDERAL WEBSITES
Many US government websites have remained outdated for years, often created by the lowest-cost bidders and difficult for users to navigate.
White House official David Sacks stated on X that Gebbia will "oversee the redesign of roughly 26,000 federal web portals, many of which are obsolete, so they better serve Social Security recipients, veterans, and all citizens."
Trump’s executive order says the studio will work to enhance the “usability and aesthetics” of federal digital services. The team will also advise agencies on cutting duplicative design expenses and adopting standardized design for platforms where citizens interact with the government.
According to the order, the Design Studio will be operational for three years before it is scheduled to close.
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With inputs from agencies
Published By:
Ishita Bajpai
Published On:
Aug 24, 2025
