Mikayla and Noelle here. We’re the duo behind Gunita Studios, a bi-continental creative studio specializing in brand strategy, visual identity, and web development. We started as internet friends then met in Manila in May 2024 over brunch and good coffee.
What started as a casual meetup quickly turned into a creative mind-meld. Noelle’s expertise in branding and copy, combined with Mikayla’s skills in design and web, felt like a match-made in heaven (as we often call ourselves). A month later, Gunita Studios was born – a creative practice built on a shared love for design, storytelling, and creating things that actually feel like something worth remembering…
Mikayla Mayumi is a Filipina-Dutch-American creative technologist and web developer based between Philadelphia and Amsterdam. A graduate of NYU Tandon School of Engineering, she designs and builds custom websites that balance compelling visuals with intuitive user experience.
She began her career at Brooklyn-based digital agency CMYK, and in 2024, co-founded Gunita Studios, where she now leads web development. An expert Shopify developer, Mikayla also enjoys teaching, and has led an e-commerce workshop at YOWIE in Philadelphia. She has also been featured on ilovecreatives’ Creative Recs.
Outside of tech, she runs MAYUMI — her jewelry line inspired by Filipino heritage and a generational love for gemstones.
Noelle D. Lejano is a multi-disciplinary creative with a focus on brand design, creative direction, and copywriting. She holds a degree in Communications, specializing in Marketing and Design.
With over four years of experience across advertising, social, and PR, she’s led brand strategy and content for names like halohalo, Pancake House, Sunnies, Recess, and adidas PH. Her practice blends design thinking with storytelling, crafting brands that resonate in both digital and real-world spaces.
Noelle is also a writer and journalist, contributing to Lifestyle Inquirer, Purveyr, MEGA, and more.