Aesthetics of Design Portfolio: Nile Brown

2 months ago

Title: From Disqualification to Design: My Aesthetics of Design Journey

I. Introduction

In my sophomore year of college, I was disqualified from a taekwondo tournament. It was unfortunate—but over time, the moment transformed into something stranger and more useful: creative fuel. That energy became the spark behind both of my projects this semester in Aesthetics of Design. This post serves as my portfolio landing page, showcasing the work I developed—ranging from a transparent assassin’s teapot to a pneumatic gauntlet engineered for rule-breaking.

II. Upcycle Project – Assassin’s Teapot

In this class, the first project was an “upcycle” project where students were tasked to develop a device using scrap and spare material. My inspiration from cooking and bi-fluid combinations (such as olive oil with balsamic, mirin and soy, etc.), and thought it would be fun to develop a parsing device. I based my design off of the “Assassin Teapot:” a device traditionally used to impress audiences in by serving tea and milk in Ancient China. I wanted to match the aesthetic of decopunk to conform to the class focus on aesthetic. Using acrylic from the soft matter mechanics lab, I completed my final part mid-March.

Full design report: https://www.aesdes.org/2025/02/27/assassins-teapot…d-parsing-device/

III. Main Project – The Disqualifier

For my main project, I designed and builtThe Disqualifier: a pneumatic-powered gauntlet engineered specifically to get its wearer disqualified from any combat sport (and to propel a punch at 145 PSI). Inspired by my personal history in martial arts—and particularly a disqualification from a collegiate taekwondo tournament—this device blends humor, rebellion, and mechanical spectacle.

Mechanically,The Disqualifier uses a double-acting pneumatic cylinder powered by a handheld compressor, with a solenoid and relay circuit for manual extension and retraction. Compressed air drives a piston-mounted fist outward at speed—an unmistakable violation of tournament rules. Visually, the gauntlet is wrapped in an aesthetic I call Sparpunk: a stylized fusion of combat sport culture and sci-fi flair, informed by both professional fighting leagues and video game/television media.

The original concept was a pneumatic shin-guard designed for Muay Thai kicks, but I pivoted after realizing that a punch-focused gauntlet offered better storytelling and more ergonomic protection for the electronics. The result is a statement piece—equal parts art object, protest mechanism, and deeply personal homage to my journey through martial arts.

The Disqualifier may never enter a real match, but it absolutely fulfills its goal: making sure I’d be unmistakably disqualified.

Full design report: https://www.aesdes.org/2025/05/03/the-disqualifier…matic-gauntlet-1/

IV. Course Reflections and Takeaways

This class taught me how to see engineering work through an aesthetic lens—not just as a technical problem to solve, but as an opportunity to communicate identity, emotion, and intention through design. I came into the semester with strong mechanical instincts but hadn’t yet explored how form and function could serve narrative or satire.

I’m most proud of The Disqualifier not because it’s polished or perfect, but because it’s unmistakably mine. It captures a personal story, a shift in design priorities, and an aesthetic sensibility I didn’t know I had. The act of naming, styling, and theming the project pushed me to think not just about performance, but about experience—what it feels like to wear, watch, and interpret the piece.

There were challenges, of course: pneumatic sealing issues, limited budget, and scope changes. But each constraint became an opportunity to learn and adapt. Sparpunk began as a joke, but it became a framework—a way to build meaning into mechanics.

This portfolio represents a turning point in how I understand design. And that, more than anything I built, is what I’ll carry forward.

V. Links and Media