First of Kind

Joe Gebbia: Designer-in-Chief

February 12, 2026·37 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Why did Joe Gebbia go to Washington? I spoke with America’s first-ever Chief Design Officer last fall to find out. We met on the White House grounds to discuss his newly created role, the formation of @ndstudio, and how Joe plans to weave design into the frabic of U.S. federal government. 00:00 - Intro / Eisenhower Exec Office Bldg 01:34 - From Airbnb to Washington 04:39 - The Federal Retirement Problem 06:31 - The Mine in the Mountain 08:29 - Do Things That Don’t Scale 11:35 - The Julie Prototype 14:20 - Down to 60 Seconds 16:33 - Consumer-Grade Government 18:31 - Nixon’s Federal Beautification 20:22 - The National Design Studio 24:24 - Trust Through Design 27:43 - Building the Dream Team 31:22 - The Silicon Valley Coalition 35:33 - A Golden Age of Design Special thanks to Joe Gebbia and his team for making this conversation possible. S2:E1 Joe Gebbia, Designer-in-Chief Hosted by Soleio: x.com/soleio Produced by Room 3: room3nyc.com First of Kind is powered by our sponsors: Framer: framer.com Cursor: cursor.com Vercel: vercel.com Profound: tryprofound.com Website: www.firstofkind.com Threads: threads.com/firstofkind_ Instagram: instagram.com/firstofkind_ X: x.com/firstofkind_ Hashtag: #FirstofKind

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