Airbnb co-founder taps Peter Arnell as first U.S. Chief Brand Architect

Joe Gebbia, the billionaire co-founder of Airbnb, is expanding his team at the U.S. National Design Studio, a Trump administration initiative aimed at enhancing the online presence of the government. On Monday, during The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” conference, Gebbia revealed that renowned American designer Peter Arnell has been appointed as the first U.S. Chief Brand Architect. Arnell joins a talented group of designers and engineers from Silicon Valley, all committed to transforming the usability of government online platforms. With a career spanning over four decades, Arnell has collaborated with prestigious brands such as Donna Karan, Samsung, Unilever, and Pepsi, among others. His new mission involves rebranding what he describes as “the greatest brand in the world” — the digital identity of the United States. “This endeavor offers a unique perspective on branding,” Arnell stated at the WSJ event. “We are not rebranding the country itself, but rather striving for a consistent, unified look and feel that fosters trust in how American citizens interact with their government on a daily basis.” The task ahead is substantial, as the team aims to redesign approximately 27,000 government websites. They are leveraging design principles similar to those used in creating leading consumer applications, such as Airbnb. “There’s a spirit of Airbnb here,” Gebbia emphasized, drawing parallels between simplifying the process of booking a stay and improving government operations to make them safer and more user-friendly. The team has already made strides in enhancing government digital services. Notably, they transformed a complex, paper-based retirement process into a streamlined web application, allowing employees to complete the procedure in mere minutes instead of months. Additionally, they are working on a project that reduces a common government workflow from 87 clicks down to just 12, with a goal of further reducing it to 10. This design initiative also addresses common frustrations with government websites, such as users getting lost or sessions timing out, which can result in data loss. Gebbia described the poor user experience of these sites as “one of the darkest UX patterns,” referring to design tactics that mislead users. He believes that the perception of government websites as difficult to navigate discourages engagement. “We are moving past that,” he asserted. “People should feel empowered to complete their necessary transactions with the government.”