esikuvitus

Esikuvitus is a Finnish term that translates roughly as pre-imagining or pre-visualization. It refers to the phase of envisioning and planning ideas before they are created in concrete form. The word derives from esi- meaning before and kuvitus meaning imagining or picture. In Finnish usage, esikuvitus denotes the cognitive and creative activity of forming mental images, concepts, or rough visuals that guide later production.

In practice, esikuvitus is used in fields such as film, animation, game design, architecture, and education. Practitioners employ mood boards, sketches, rough storyboards, and verbal descriptions to explore possibilities, test narratives, and align teams. The process sits between initial ideation and formal concept art or engineering design, enabling iterative refinement without committing to final materials or systems.

From a cognitive perspective, esikuvitus overlaps with studies of visual imagery and mental simulation, which describe how people imagine scenes to plan actions or communication. In Finnish discourse, esikuvitus is often discussed as a practical term rather than a strict scientific concept, and its English equivalents—pre-visualization or concept visualization—capture similar ideas. The term is primarily used within Finnish-language contexts and may vary in meaning across disciplines.

See also: mental imagery, concept art, pre-production, storyboard, visualization.

---