CASIO International

For many people, a Casio product is more than just a product. It might be their first scientific calculator, first keyboard, or even their first watch. For Xavier de la CROIX, Vice President of Casio France, this ability to be present at important first moments in people’s lives is one of the brand’s particular strengths. Having started his career in marketing, Xavier still believes that strong brands begin with understanding people. Today, he looks beyond individual product categories and communities, from students discovering science and musicians expressing their creativity to watch enthusiasts to see how different Casio experiences connect throughout people's lives. France offers a compelling example. Its strong relationship with #design, #fashion, and #culture makes it a valuable market for building brands and a laboratory for ideas that can inspire other markets. G-SHOCK, for instance, has evolved beyond its traditional toughness positioning to build stronger connections with fashion, street culture, and younger communities. Xavier points to the 2100 series as an important part of that journey, helping G-SHOCK reach new audiences while staying true to its identity. For Xavier, the opportunity is to move from iconic products to an even more iconic brand building lasting relationships with consumers while allowing local creativity and #innovation to bring new perspectives to a global brand. As he puts it: “A successful product generates sales. A strong brand creates a relationship that can last for decades.” From a first calculator or keyboard to a first watch, those individual connections can ultimately build something much bigger: a brand that remains meaningful across generations. What was your first Casio product?

In Thailand, Casio is working to use scientific calculators for more than simply getting answers faster, supporting inquiry, real-life problem solving, and deeper understanding. Through the Demonstration School Program, Casio works alongside local educational institutions to develop #teaching materials, train educators, implement lessons, and evaluate #learning outcomes. The aim is to give students more room to think. By reducing time spent on routine calculations, scientific calculators can support a cycle of thinking, trying different approaches, and verifying results, while helping connect #mathematics and science with real-life situations. Educators involved in the initiative have seen the impact from different perspectives. They describe more positive attitudes toward mathematics, a shift away from memorizing theory toward deeper understanding, and greater opportunities for students to apply what they learn. The collaboration also brings together schools, educators, and educational organizations to continue refining how these approaches are used in the classroom. By supporting learning rooted in curiosity, Casio continues to explore how technology can help students build the independent thinking and problem-solving skills they need for the future. For your reference (Article for educators): https://lnkd.in/gswFgWyu

⚾ Inspiring the next generation through sport and international exchange Casio was proud to support the 32nd World Children's Baseball Fair (WCBF), held in Narita, Japan, from July 30 to August 7. Since 1992, we have partnered with this unique initiative, founded by baseball legends Sadaharu Oh and Hank Aaron to promote #baseball around the world while fostering friendship and goodwill among young people. This year's event brought together 95 young players from 12 countries and regions, including first-time participant Slovakia. Throughout the week, participants took part in baseball clinics and international games, attended a professional baseball game, and experienced #Japanese culture through traditional activities and local excursions, building friendships that transcended borders and languages. As part of our long-standing support, Casio presented each participant with a commemorative G-SHOCK featuring the tournament logo. We hope it will keep time alongside the memories and friendships they created through baseball. Through a wide range of #sports, including baseball, Casio will continue to support the next generation and athletes who take on new challenges.

⌚🌱G-SHOCK Featured at the Embassy of Ecuador’s Independence Day Reception in Tokyo On August 21, marketing representatives from G-SHOCK were deeply honored to attend a reception in Tokyo celebrating the 217th Anniversary of Ecuador’s Declaration of Independence. Together with members of the Ecuadorian community in Japan and guests committed to strengthening ties between the two nations, we joined in celebrating this important milestone. G-SHOCK collaborates with the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, an international non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the unique ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in Ecuador. To date, we have released four collaboration models, sharing the Foundation’s vital story with a global audience while directing a portion of sales proceeds to support its conservation efforts. G-SHOCK seeks to offer products that embody lasting value beyond mere toughness, and this partnership was born out of respect for the Foundation’s conservation efforts in the Galapagos. Our participation in the reception was made possible through the invitation of His Excellency Mr. César Montaño, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ecuador to Japan, who shares our dedication to environmental conservation and wears the G-SHOCK Charles Darwin Foundation collaboration model (GA-B2100CD-1A4). During his address at the reception, Ambassador Montaño expressed warm appreciation for our ongoing support for conservation efforts in the Galapagos. The reception also featured an exhibition of past collaboration models, providing a valued opportunity to share the story behind the collection and our continued support for the Foundation. G-SHOCK will continue supporting initiatives that help protect the Galapagos Islands through its collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

What makes a product's design stay relevant for decades? For Thizz Collectibles, a collector who shares his vintage Casio watch finds online, the answer began with a childhood memory of his father's Casio W-400 Marlin, released in 1983. Years later, seeing the same model on Instagram made him look at its #design differently. Finding his own W-400 sparked an interest in #vintage Casio watches that has since grown into a #collection of more than 100 pieces. The connection became even more personal when he acquired a PELA, first released in 1985, and discovered that his father had owned one too. What keeps him collecting, however, goes beyond nostalgia. He is drawn to the unexpected ideas found throughout our #history. The MAP-100, released in 1989, could measure distances on paper maps, while the JP-100W, released in 1987, could measure pulse rates. Building functions no one had asked for yet has been part of our approach to watchmaking from the beginning, and for Thizz, it is what can still feel surprising decades later. Sharing his collection online has also connected him with enthusiasts around the world, including younger collectors discovering designs from the 1980s and 1990s that still feel fresh today. See part of his vintage Casio collection in the images below, and make sure to visit his Instagram account linked in the comments.

What makes calculator input feel natural? After four and a half years of studying how people move their hands, Casio found that a 3° tilt meaningfully improved comfort and ease of use. The development of the Ergonomic Calculator began with a simple question: what actually makes a calculator easy to use? Working with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Casio used motion capture and 3D force sensors to study the #ergonomics of hand and finger movement, position, and the direction of each keystroke. The research revealed that while the right hand naturally angles outward during calculator use, the fingers continue to press the keys vertically. To translate that insight into #ProductDesign, the team tested calculator surfaces from 0° to 9° in one-degree increments. Repeated testing and 3D-printed prototypes led to the 3° angle, while helping refine everything from the keypad to the curves and edges of the body. The finished Ergonomic Calculator combines this 3° sloped surface, designed to follow the natural position of the hand, with vertically aligned Ergonomic Step Keys that support the natural direction of each keystroke. After four and a half years of research, testing, and refinement, the idea guiding the #innovation remained simple: "Making the calculator fit the person, not the person fit the calculator."

“Why does the bush warbler sing ‘ho-ho-kekyo’? Why does the rooster crow ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’? Unless you start with those questions, you cannot move forward.” That way of thinking shaped the #development of Casio first electronic musical instrument, the Casiotone 201. Toshio Kashio, the second of the four Kashio brothers and an inventor behind several of Casio businesses, had loved #music since childhood. When he began exploring electronic instruments at age 55, he did not start with the keyboard itself. He began by asking what sound is, what makes it pleasing, and how it reaches the human ear. Birdsong led him to a hypothesis. Although #digital technology could create almost any sound, he believed the sounds people found most pleasing were rooted in #nature. Toshio analyzed sound as a combination of vowel- and consonant-like elements. By subtly varying and recombining them, he developed Casio vowel/consonant sound system, which could reproduce the character of different instruments. That research led to the Casiotone 201 in 1980. Compact and lightweight, with a built-in speaker, it offered 29 instrument sounds from a single keyboard. It was hailed at the time as a “third type of instrument,” neither an electronic organ nor a synthesizer. The Casiotone 201 began with birdsong and a fundamental question about sound. That line of inquiry opened a new way for more people to experience the joy of making music.