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What Joe Gebbia’s new role means for designers everywhere
A historic first
When the White House announced that Joe Gebbia, Airbnb co-founder, RISD-trained designer, and Tesla board member, would become the nation’s first Chief Design Officer, the design world lost its collective mind.
Not for Big Tech. Not for a Fortune 500. Not for a startup or unicorn.
But for the entire U.S. government.
The initiative, called “America by Design,” aims to modernize 26,000 federal websites, improve accessibility, and overhaul the way citizens experience government services. Gebbia described his goal as simply: to make government services as satisfying as those at the Apple Store (The New York Times).
That’s a bold promise. Filing taxes, renewing a passport, applying for benefits; these aren’t experiences anyone associates with delight.
But here’s what matters more than the promise: the symbolism.
For the first time, design is not just a corporate function or creative department. It’s a matter of state.
The global context
The U.S. isn't first to this party.
- The UK created its Government Digital Service (GDS) in 2011, radically simplifying government websites under a single design system (UK Parliament).
- Estonia has become the poster child for e-government, with nearly all civic services accessible digitally (WIRED).
- Even countries like Canada and Australia have central digital design units.
More importantly, America tried this already. And that's where the story gets messy.
The 18F backstory
18F was the government's design dream team.
Founded in 2014 under Obama, this General Services Administration (GSA) unit did exactly what Joe Gebbia is now tasked to do.
Their track record:
- U.S. Web Design System: standardized design across 180+ government sites
- COVIDtests.gov: enabled Americans to order free COVID tests
- Cloud.gov: simplified cloud adoption for agencies
- Analytics.usa.gov: transparent government website traffic
- Notify.gov: text messaging service for government communication
They saved agencies an estimated $100,000 per project using their design system. Over 180 government projects adopted USWDS since 2015 (18F 2017).
Then Trump happened. Twice.
On March 1, 2025, Thomas Shedd sent an email to all 18F staff, describing them as "non-essential" and "non-critical", and eliminated the office "under direction from the White House" (FedScoop 2025).
The backstory is wild. Elon Musk targeted 18F by tweeting "that group has been deleted" while also retweeting criticism of 18F being aligned with left-leaning politics.
USDS prioritized technical roles during layoffs, with non-engineering positions eliminated first. "Basically, if you weren't an engineer, you weren't considered valuable," an anonymous source told Nextgov/FCW.
Here's where it gets weird.
America by Design uses the exact same tools 18F created.
The executive order directs GSA to modernize the federal web design system, which was originally built by 18F and USDS (Government Executive 2025).
Trump fired the designers who built the U.S. Web Design System. Then appointed a Chief Design Officer to... rebuild the U.S. Web Design System.
You can't make this up. And that's why designers are angry.
18F proved government design works. Then politics killed it.
Now we get a Chief Design Officer role that feels like political theater instead of serious UX work.
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Why designers are split on this
For years, designers have fought the same battles:
“Just make it look pretty.”
“Can you mock this up real quick?”
“Let’s skip research. It’s too expensive.”
Now, design has reached the highest level of U.S. government. It’s no longer decoration, it’s infrastructure.
To every boardroom, it’s a challenge: if the slowest institution on earth sees design as leadership, what’s your excuse?
And that's exactly why the announcement sparked such a split across the industry.
Scroll through LinkedIn and you’ll find the comments range from ecstatic to enraged.
Some are thrilled:
- “Finally, design is being recognized as a strategic force, not just decoration. Solving real-world problems at scale — that’s the kind of impact every designer should aim for.”
Others are horrified:
- “Design should not be used to enable or advocate the regime. Trump will abuse it for influence. My stomach is turning.”
- “This is dangerous. It’s design as propaganda, not design as progress.”
And then there are the skeptics:
- “Good design in government has been tried before. 18F, USDS, IRS Direct File. All undermined by bureaucracy. What makes this different?”
At best, this inspires younger designers to see their craft as capable of shaping policy and democracy.
At worst, this becomes tokenism. Gebbia paraded for photo ops while real design work is ignored. Or worse: design weaponized to make government look better while hiding broken systems. Dark UX at a national scale.
The crux of the debate: is design being used to solve real problems, or to mask them?
This isn't just about Gebbia or Trump. It's about what design is, who it serves, and what happens when it sits at the table of power.
What this means for designers
So what does this all mean for you, the working designer?
- Stop acting like design is extra. This appointment proves design is infrastructure. If it can modernize government, it can certainly modernize your company.
- Aim bigger. If Gebbia can go from designing trust in strangers’ homes to redesigning the DMV, you can take on harder problems than button colors.
- Take ethics seriously. Power always comes with risk. If design is going to sit next to policy and law, designers must confront their role in shaping not just experiences, but society.
- Expect ripple effects. If the U.S. has a CDO, expect corporations to follow. In a few years, CDO might sit alongside the CEO, CTO, and CFO as a standard role.
This isn't just about prettier government websites. Gebbia is redesigning the DMV experience, tax filing, voting interfaces, healthcare portals, immigration applications.
These are some of America's most hated government touchpoints. If UX design makes them clearer and less painful, it's massive progress. If it fails, it becomes another cautionary tale of design overpromising.
The real question
Is Gebbia's Chief Design Officer appointment good for design?
Yes - it validates design as leadership force.
No - it risks turning design into political tool.
Both can be true.
Whether you love or hate this move, it proves something designers have said for decades but struggled to prove: design matters.
We no longer beg for table seats. The table is open.
So the real question isn’t “Is this good?”
The real question: What will we do with this opportunity?
If Joe Gebbia can go from designing "trust in strangers" to redesigning how you file your taxes, every UX designer needs bigger ambitions. But first, study what 18F accomplished before it got "deleted.”
This moment starts either design as civic infrastructure or design's ethical reckoning.
The world is watching. So are we.
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