Tricia Bateman Design

03/17/2026

For a whole 30 minutes this morning, I was fully caught up. That hasn't happened in about 5 months! I'm wrapping up 3 large projects over the next few weeks and will have a little capacity opening up in mid-April and more later in the summer. Got a brand, team, or project that would benefit from creative direction? Let's chat.

Not sure if that's what you need? Give this blog post a skim.

A fractional creative director might be your answer to marketing and branding roadblocks. See if any of these scenarios resonate with you.

10/16/2025

Artist Spotlight: Tricia Bateman,

Remember that great poster from our August event — PechaKucha Night Knoxville Vol. 56? The bold, eye-catching design filled with cosmic curiosity came from the talented Tricia Bateman. ✨

For more than two decades, Tricia has helped companies solve problems through design. As a freelance creative director, she’s crafted countless projects for a wide range of brands — from large B2B companies to DIY nonprofits and startups. Her specialties include building cohesive brand systems, translating complex ideas into clear visuals, and finding creativity within even the strictest brand guidelines.

Before launching her freelance career, Tricia was the founding art director of the Knoxville Mercury and previously worked at a Cincinnati-based branding agency, where she helped rebrand a major healthcare network and designed collateral for Fortune 500 companies.

We were thrilled to have Tricia lend her creative vision to Vol. 56, and her poster perfectly captured the mystery, wonder, and imagination that make every PechaKucha Night Knoxville so unforgettable. 💫

08/12/2025

Next year's Big Ears Festival graphics launched today so I thought I'd share a bit of the inspiration.

Chladni patterns happen when sound is applied to a thin metal plate with sand, salt or other fine grit. It is literally what sound looks like. Most people won't know that, so I included instrument shapes within the Chladni patterns. I love how it allows for a mix of interpretations. Yes, Chladni patterns, but also kaleidoscopes and mandalas. Much like the festival, you see in it what you want to see.

I'm looking forward to playing with this pattern all year. It's gonna look great on a tshirt.

Listen along at BigEarsFestival.org.

07/01/2025

TFW a logo you designed shows up in an unexpected way, but is totally spot on the brand personality! (Buy yours at shop.bentonscountryham.com)

06/02/2025

Color palette inspiration you may see in future work courtesy of a quick trip to Salem, Mass.

04/22/2025

Indulge me for a moment while I use my business account and some bad photos of my TV to gush about Andor.

Aside from simply coveting Bix’s jackets and Mon’s white suits, I love it when a designer in any medium can take a nugget of a concept and use it in dozens of different ways. Once I noticed the use of quilting and seaming details in the costumes I started seeing it everywhere. In an interview, designer Michael Wilkinson said he took inspiration from Japanese workwear and the amazing wall of gloves “speaks to the ritualization of work.”

(Pssst. This is very similar to building a great brand visual system.)

There’s so much great visual storytelling in the Andor costumes. They tie the planets of Ferrix and Kenari together through the “found and foraged clothes” the kids wear. And when the teen shows up in his dead father’s jacket … heartbreaking.

One additional detail. The opening few bars of music that accompany the title is different for every episode even though the core melody is always the same.

04/13/2025

Hot take: Canva is a tool. AI is a tool. The Adobe Suite is a tool.

⚙️ Canva is good for collaboration and social media.
⚙️ AI is good for production support or quick memes.
⚙️ Adobe is good for high-quality, complex, or custom designs.

What makes the outcomes effective is the user.

Sometimes non-designers need to be involved in design. Especially with startups and nonprofits. I get it. Building thoughtful infrastructure around those situations can speed recognition, comprehension, and persuasion.

🤔 Do you have a robust visual system built to support strategy and scale up?
🤔 Do your graphics look like everyone else’s or do you stand out?
🤔 Do your concepts and layouts resonate with your audience?
🤔 Do your hierarchy, spacing, and alignments radiate professionalism?

You know who can help you solve those challenges? A creative director can create or refine your visual system so that it works no matter the tool. That doesn’t have to be a costly full-time hire. It could be a monthly consulting meeting, weekly design reviews, or ex*****on of a single larger branding project or campaign.

✉️ I’m now booking projects for summer. Message me if you want to learn more about how creative direction can help your brand work harder.

(Note: For a moment, I’m setting aside ethical and environmental issues which should absolutely also be considered when deciding which tools to use.)

04/01/2025

Whew! That was a lot of work but a lot of fun! Thanks, Big Ears, for a great year of collaboration and creativity.

🎵: DakhaBrakha

03/04/2025

I’m super proud of our team from the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center’s What’s the Big Idea 48-hour pitch competition this weekend. Teams build a whole pitch between Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Fibarcode founder Brian Iezzi has created a way for clothing brands to meet new sustainability regulations and boost their resale profits. Fibarcode is a “thread that is read” and is sewn into clothing to collect data and keep more fabric out of landfills. Brian was energetic and open and worked so hard to deliver a fantastic pitch.

Other teams pitched a job site for stay-at-home moms, an app to combine soccer and STEM, shoe soles that convert carbon to oxygen, a site that connects small businesses to influencers, and the winner, an AI-based platform that builds hands-on project-based lesson plans for teachers in minutes. So many great investment-worthy ideas! Gimme a shout if you want to know more.

12/31/2024

About this time last year, my friend Amy Leibrock reached out to me with an idea. We’d both been struggling with motivation to promote our freelance businesses. She wondered if having an accountability partner for self-promotion would help us show up for our businesses, just like having a friend go to yoga with helps ensure that you show up. Thus began a year-long partnership we called Freelance Fuel Fridays. Check out the blog for some things we learned about how to get the most out of an accountability partnership.

After a busy 2024, I finally have availability again in February. Give me a shout if you need a senior designer who understands that good design work takes a good partnership.

And be sure to connect with Amy, too!

Freelancing comes with its fair share of challenges, but one of the biggest perks is working from anywhere. Here are a few tips on how I made it happen.

12/25/2024

Wishing you all the intangible gifts you've given me this year!