President Trump announces design initiative to make government digital services ‘useable and beautiful’
US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order to launch a new America by Design initiative aimed at improving government digital services and websites.
It includes the creation of a National Design Studio to provide “first-class online and offline experiences for Americans” and a new role of a chief design officer. Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia has been named as the chief design officer.
The executive order stated: “America has long led the world in innovation, technological advancement and design. But with a sprawling ecosystem of digital services offered to Americans, the government has lagged behind in usability and aesthetics.”
“There is a high financial cost to maintaining legacy systems, to say nothing of the cost in time lost by the American public trying to navigate them,” it noted, adding that: “It is time to fill the digital potholes across our nation.”
Trump said the government’s design language should be “both useable and beautiful”.
Government Service Delivery – the new name for GovernmentDX – will bring together global digital government leaders to explore how governments can use tech-driven innovation to deliver high-quality public services. The event will be held at Walter E Washington Convention Center, Washington DC on October 29 – 30, 2025. Find out more and register your interest here
Apple Store vision
The National Design Studio will advise agencies on how to reduce duplicative design costs, use standardised design, and improve user experiences.
It will be a temporary organisation – like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – and is scheduled to terminate in August 2028.
Chief design officer Gebbia will be charged with helping to recruit creative talent, coordinating with executive departments and agencies, and devising design solutions.
“My 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 wrote on X. “An experience that projects a level of excellence for our nation, and makes life less complicated for everyday Americans.”
Gebbia left his operational role at Airbnb in 2022 but remained on its board of directors. In February 2025, he said he was joining DOGE to work on digitalising the retirement process.
Read more: Why branding matters for governments: Five minutes with graphic designer Paula Scher
‘Results by 2026’
Heads of agencies are expected to implement the America by Design initiative and “produce initial results by July 4, 2026”. This will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the date by which DOGE was pre-scheduled to conclude.
The announcement comes after reductions in force since president Trump came to office, which included closing the 18F digital services agency, which was part of the General Services Administration, and reducing the size of the United States DOGE Service (USDS), which Trump had renamed from its former title of the United States Digital Service.
Design and useability were also a focus of the previous Biden administration, which worked to streamline government websites, improve design for mobiles, and standardise visuals.
About Sarah Wray
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
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