This Thursday at Community Breakfast, we met someone who knows a thing or two about embracing new directions.
Esben Ask Meincke, founder of Studio Esben Ask Meincke, shared his journey from elite sports to global tech and now independent brand strategy and design consultancy here at Republikken.
And in many ways, it all started on a basketball court.
From Elite Athlete to Global Tech
Before branding, design, and strategy entered the picture, basketball was Esben’s world.
He spent years competing as an elite player and being deeply involved in the sport. In his late twenties, however, it became clear that it was time to explore a new path.
Rather than seeing it as an end, Esben saw it as an opportunity to rethink what came next.
That curiosity led him toward design, aesthetics, and visual communication. What began as an interest quickly developed into a new professional direction.
Soon Esben joined Unity, the Danish tech company behind one of the world’s leading game engines. When he started, the company had around 200 employees. Eleven years later, it had grown to more than 7,500 people worldwide.
Along the way, he worked with brand strategy, visual identity, and marketing, helping shape how the company communicated and presented itself during one of Denmark’s most impressive tech growth journeys.
When a Brand Becomes a Community
One of Esben’s key insights from Unity was simple. A brand is not what a company says it is. It’s what people believe it is.
When developers love a product enough to advocate for it, you know the brand works. At Unity, some fans even showed up at conferences ready to get Unity tattoos.
That kind of loyalty doesn’t happen by accident. It grows when what a company says, what it does, and how people experience it all align.
Building Brands Up Close
After more than a decade in global tech, Esben felt ready for a new chapter.
One with closer collaboration, more creative freedom, and stronger relationships with the companies he works with.
Today he runs his own studio from Republikken, helping businesses clarify their brand DNA, strategy, visual identity, and communication — from the strategic foundation to the design that brings it to life. So if you are building something exciting in Republikken and wondering how your brand is perceived, you might want to grab a coffee with Esben.
You’ll find him upstairs at Republikken. Probably walking around instead of sitting still.