Industrial Design?... What's that?

I went to Jean Madeline(Aveda institute) to get a hair cut this morning.
I had a light conversation with my 'hair stylist-to-be', who is currently a student of the institution, while she was shampooing my hair.

She: What do you study?
Me: I study Industrial Design.

Probably she was slipping the word 'Industrial' away.

However, she caught the other word 'Design' which was lot more familiar for her thanks to TV shows(i.e. project runway) and media.

So
She: What's that? Is it some kind of making clothes?
Me: No, it's about designing electronics, furniture, home ware or kitchen ware,etc.

She still wasn't sure what I was studying. After a short pause...
She: Do you study buying those products?
-probably she meant by studying business or management.
Me: No, I do and study design, but not buying designed products.

Finally, she said with an exclamation mark,

"Ah, so you can draw!"

Yes, of course I can draw AND I DESIGN THINGS!

But design is not just about drawing, it is more about observing people and their life.

Whew, how ignorant people are about industrial design even though they can't live without the benefits of it and of industrial designers'. We are designing things around people-their everyday life. And that can be invisible and unappreciated by people. Apparently.

I could tell tons of babies of industrial designers' at the salon today; blow dryers, scissors, reception desks, lights, chairs, sofas, tables, mirror-table-drawers, containers of all kinds of hair products, shelves, etc. It was everywhere.

Maybe I should've told her that I design or study about the everyday life of human beings. And we, industrial designers try to improve our daily life, so we can live more conveniently and 'without thought'(Naoto Fukasawa-I'll talk about him later) or hesitation while they're using products.

So, Industrial designers design everyday life of human beings.!

And you know what? It is damn hard to do that just 'right'.

PS. Thanks to my stylist's talent, and help of good products & tools, I've a got a nice new hair cut.