in 1960 he was appointed head of design at the college, a post he held until his retirement in 1971. in edinburgh, cook had a number of solo exhibitions at both the demarco gallery and at open eye gallery but also showed in london including at the gallery upstairs at the royal academy. cook toured a show of images called "microcosm" and also produced a volume of poems and wood engravings entitled "aftermath", based on drawings made in bristol and london after war-time air raids on those cities. cook added a postscript, entitled "the greening" to the volume in 1984. later in life, cook turned to a more abstract style of painting and also created large works on ecological themes.