Diana, Aisha & Kriause

Diana Molytė is a freelance designer and illustrator based in Vilnius, Lithuania. We admire her work and love the doggie themes that run throughout her commissioned and personal practice.

Hi Diana, can you tell us about your creative journey so far?

A year ago I finished studies at Vilnius Academy of Arts and now work as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. From early childhood, I loved drawing and painting. At the same time, I felt the need to create with purpose rather than simply self-expression. That’s why I chose design.

In 2017 I illustrated my first picture book written by Evelina Daciūte. In 2019 for my final project at the Academy, I created a game which later won Creative Communication Awards in Student Graphic design, Packaging and Branding categories. Branding and illustration are still the areas that interest me most now.

I read in Four & Sons that family run a Rhodesian Ridgeback kennel.
How long have your family breed Ridgebacks?

We bought our first Ridgeback Charra when I was ten. At first we didn’t have a plan to start a kennel. We just loved the breed and enjoyed traveling to different cities and countries for dog shows. Most of them were very successful, so we decided to commit to our passion even further and start a kennel.

Charra had two puppy litters of 9 and 8 puppies. Later, her daughter Aisha had 11! (So yes, there was a time we had 13 Rhodesian Ridgebacks in our house :D) Now our Ridgeback kennel days are in the past as we said goodbye to our beloved Charra last autumn and Aisha is an elderly lady already.

You also have an adorable dachshund companion Kriause!
Please tell us about the canines in your life…

We have a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Aisha. She’s ten years old. And, as you mentioned, Kriause - a miniature wirehaired dachshund. She’ll turn two in a few months.

Your design work is a mix of both client-focused and self-initiated projects.
Many of which have dog themes! How do your dogs participate or inspire your creative process?

Creating designs for dog brands or about dogs is a very fluent process for me. My dogs are definitely a daily inspiration for those projects. Their little annoying habits,
funny expressions and simply mood-boosting presence - anything can spark an idea.

Moreover, these things are familiar to so many dog owners, when translated into design well, they make projects much more relatable and genuine.

Last year you designed a dog training guide called “Train your owner” because “education starts with the human.” When I took Tere and Kahu to puppy school our trainer Christine Neilsen reinforced this thinking that she was schooling me not them! What lessons have your dogs taught you?

• I learned the most with our first Ridgeback Charra. As a true Ridgeback she was not easily motivated. At our first puppy training lessons she wasn’t interested in toys or treats. Any attempt at pushing her to do something she didn’t want, led to stopping and staring at me stubbornly.

• I learned to keep her focus with the joyful tone of my voice and guide, rather than control her. I also started to recognise dog’s subtle body language changes and anticipate the reaction in various situations.

• And last but not least, I learned to always take appetizing treats to walks with the leash off:)

The 12 training cards offers a new technique to learn each month, every card is beautifully
illustrated and full of helpful advice. What lead you to produce this project?

The opportunity presented itself in my graphic design studies. It was my last year at the Academy of Arts and I realised that none of my projects were related to dogs. I thought this was a missed opportunity because cynology was a big part of my life before design was even a thought.

Over the years I accumulated knowledge that, I thought others might find useful. I also had many hilarious stories and training mistakes to share in my illustrations.

I chose the form of a calendar to remind that puppy training doesn’t happen only in puppy school. It’s most effective as a part of everyday life.

You write “Dogs are very perceptive: over time they learn to anticipate our actions.
But we humans are confusing creatures, acting differently depending on various circumstances,”
What was your favourite training tip in this series?

I love this advice, or maybe it’s more of an insight, because of its simplicity. I read few years ago, that dogs cannot understand this concept of “exception” as humans do. They are persistent and remember the times they were rewarded. For instance, if yesterday you shared a piece of pie straight from the table because you didn’t feel like finishing it yourself, you shouldn’t be surprised if today your dog will sit near the table counting your every bite. If it happened yesterday, it can happen again and your dog will be sure not to miss it…

So the advice here is to be consistent with your behaviour and think through the possible exceptions that might confuse your dog. For instance, if you let your pup leap on the couch right after the walk outside, consider the times he’ll come home with muddy paws or soaked from the rain.

Your current personal project is to design a logo for individual dog breeds.
Each is a wonderful distillation of the characteristics, energy and form of each dog.
What sparked this project?

I was looking for a personal project I’d feel motivated to continue and share on Instagram. At the same time, I wanted to improve my logo designing skills. I also believe that sharing the work you would want to do for your ideal clients attract exactly those clients:)

Considering all of this, creating dog logo series hits all the marks for me. I know a ton of facts about dogs and love to dive into historic details. With each logo I share the most interesting facts and stories about every breed.

Do you have a favorite dog logo so far?

I think, my favourite is the Komodor. I was very happy to find my own twist at depicting its inque fur look and form.

You have also been experimenting with some paper-cut collage lately, do you have a preference to analogue craft based vs digital production for your artwork & design?

Before design studies most of my artworks were either watercolours or acrylic paintings. However, when I got more comfortable with design programs I usually prefer the digital creative process. The option of hitting cmd+z (or ctrl+z) whenever I feel like it is hard to give up now :D

What project professional or personal are you most proud of and why?

On my third year of design studies I collaborated with a children’s book author Evelina Daciūte and we published an interactive picture book. The story that could be read and also viewed as an animation on a phone or tablet.

Illustrating, animating and publishing a book was a complete novelty to me. It was the first time I referred to myself as an illustrator. Before, I was very focused on
becoming a graphic designer and was not exploring wider applicability of my skills. I think this experience inspired me to initiate more personal projects and bring more of my own personality to my designs.

I spotted in your instagram feed that Kriause means Pear…
How did you come up with her name and does it have any specific significance?

We were looking for a generic noun that would soud unusual and fun as a name.

The word for a pear fruit in Lithuanian sounds very crisp and fresh. We felt it suited our lively wirehaired dachshund perfectly. Also, Kriause came to our family as a birthday present for my dad and he loves pears;)

Tell us about a typical day in the life of Kriause?

A typical day for Kriause starts at approximately 8 am with a quick stroll around the house and breakfast. Long day naps are sometimes interrupted by the duties of a guard dog when a delivery guy or a neighbour passes by.

Evenings (especially in summer) are the highlight of the day for Kriause. Everyone is outside together and she can run around in the yard with her ball at least for a few hours before supper.

What is the biggest benefit to sharing your creative space with canines?

Sometimes I can be such a perfectionist when it comes to work. Dogs make sure I peel my eyes off the screen from time to time. They’re also very good at reminding that throwing a ball outside is as much my responsibility as that looming deadline. Also their presence is simply calming and that’s always beneficial in a workspace.

What is your favourite activity you do together?

I think our opinions on the quality time together differ. For me it would be lounging in the terrace, sipping a latte and listening to a good book with Kriause on my lap.

For Kriause though, there is no quality time outside without chasing a ball. She just doesn’t get tired of it. Personally, I don’t get it and neither does our ridgeback:D

Where is your dogs favourite spot to hang out while you’re working?

Both of my dogs love sunshine. So while I’m working, they usually mind their own business and search for the best spot to sunbath near the window. Unless it’s close to dinner time… Then, suddenly, there’s one nose on the table and a sausage dog rolling belly up under my chair.

What is your funniest memory of your dog?

It was a Saturday before Easter and we were walking in our neighbourhood with my dad and our two Ridgebacks Charra and Aisha. Suddenly, we noticed that the dogs are out of sight. After a minute of yelling their names both came back… each with a big raw marinated piece of meat in her mouth.

Our only guess is that, someone must have left the meat outside on the porch or near the fireplace unattended. To this day we don’t know who they’ve robbed of a nice steak dinner.

Is there another creative canine combo you'd like to see profiled?

One that comes to mind is @agu_wu_ I follow her on Instagram. She’s from Poland and designs with her dachshund.

Finally where can we see more of your work?

On Instagram @diamol I share my illustrations, logos and other, usually, dog-related content. On my website at diamol.graphics and Behance portfolio behance.net/
Diamol there’s a wider variety of graphic design projects.