The lower one does look 'faster', but I think the middle one is better proportioned.

If you lay out your pattern carefully, you can have one of the designs land right in center of you hatches. Then you could go with a diamond-shaped knob that would be somewhat hidden by the design...

This is what I'm doing on my Outer Island -- a Navajo chevron pattern in walnut and cherry with a half-width strip of walnut down the center inlaid in white cedar:

----------------------------------------------

\^^^^^^/ \^^^^^^/ ----------------------------------------------

\********/ \********/ ---------------------------------------------- ********************************************** ----------------------------------------------

/********\ /********\ ----------------------------------------------

/^^^^^^\ /^^^^^^\ ----------------------------------------------

Each strip is a foot or so of cedar butt-jointed at a 45* angle across the strip to the walnut or cherry inlay. I made a clamping fixture and did all my strips in advance with 1-minute epoxy in a matter of hours.

Dean