Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia is expanding the team at the U.S. National Design Studio with the appointment of veteran designer Peter Arnell. According to TechCrunch, Arnell will serve as the first U.S. chief brand architect for the initiative.
Gebbia announced the hire during The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” conference on Monday. The National Design Studio is a Trump administration initiative aimed at improving the digital presence and usability of government platforms.
Arnell brings four decades of experience working with global brands including Samsung, Pepsi, Unilever, and The Home Depot. His new role focuses on creating a consistent digital experience for American citizens interacting with federal services.
Redesigning 27,000 federal websites
The project involves a massive technical undertaking, as the team is tasked with redesigning 27,000 government websites. Arnell intends to use the same design principles found in top-tier consumer applications to build trust in government digital services.
“What we’re trying to do is, very specifically, have a consistency, [a] unified look-and-feel and experience, so that we start to build trust in the way that the American citizen daily interacts with the government,” Arnell said during the event.
He described the United States as “the greatest brand in the world” and noted the challenge of applying consumer-grade usability to complex government processes. The studio will rely on a group of Silicon Valley software engineering and design talent to execute the overhaul.
Gebbia noted that the mission of the National Design Studio mirrors the early goals of Airbnb. He stated that much like simplifying the process of booking a rental room, the studio aims to make complicated government interactions easier, safer, and more trustworthy.
