When she was still very young, the family moved to Antwerp in search of work only returning to Amsterdam in , at the outbreak of World War I. She attended youth camps organised by the Arbeiders Jeugd Centrale, a Social Democrat movement, where she took part in hiking, sports and cultural activities.
An image has survived of her at one of the camps, smiling and drawing and surrounded by friends. In she was hired to design advertisements for the Draka wire and cable factory and later found work with a publishing firm with strong links to the Social Democratic Party.
She depicted workers in a positive way, showing them as strong and capable, rather than downtrodden victims. She was so successful that by she was living in her own studio. Her work was varied and included book bindings, ex-libris, illustrations, postcards, calendars, playing cards, posters and pamphlets, as well as woodcuts and linocuts. Examples of all are included in the exhibition and show a range of influences including art deco, art nouveau and the Amsterdam School. The Amsterdam School movement had been founded by Jewish architect Michel de Klerk at the beginning of the 20th century with the aim of improving the living conditions of the working class.
The Het Schip Museum, which is devoted to preserving and promoting the work of the movement, is one of his buildings. Many of the artworks and objects she designed found their way into the homes of ordinary people, where they have survived until today. Cohen was not afraid to work in different mediums or new formats.
She also pioneered statistical graphics, in which data is presented with icons rather than numbers. This work included brochures for Schipol Airport and the Amsterdam port, using pictograms to show the growth in passenger numbers and cargo.
