Cooper taught interactive media design as the founder and head of the Visible Language Workshop (VLW). She was recognized as a pioneer in designing and changing the landscape of electronic communication. Although she never learned to program computers, she could see the design possibilities opened up by the technology, and worked closely with programmers and engineers to experiment with new concepts in the presentation of complex information. In 1976, her students literally broke down the wall between design and production of media, experimenting with a wide variety of new computing, electronics, and printing technologies.