Overview

• President Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 21 establishing the National Design Studio to improve the usability and aesthetics of federal digital services.
• Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia was appointed chief design officer and will report directly to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
• The studio is scheduled to wind down after three years and will advise agencies on consolidating design efforts and adopting common interface standards.
• The move follows the earlier DOGE efficiency push associated with Elon Musk, with some modernization projects since halted, including the IRS’s free online tax-filing tool.
• The order describes a focus on high-volume services such as tax filing, Social Security, Medicare enrollment and immigration processes, building on Gebbia’s prior work digitizing retirement applications.