A query image is received, along with a query to initiate a search process to find other images based on the query image. The query includes a preference value associated with an attribute, the preference value indicative of a level of emphasis to be placed on the attribute during the search. A full query vector, which is within a first dimensional space and representative of the query image, is generated. The full query vector is projected to a reduced dimensional space having a dimensionality lower than the first dimensional space, to generate a query vector. An attribute direction corresponding to the attribute is identified. A plurality of candidate vectors of the reduced dimensional space is searched, based on the attribute direction, the query vector, and the preference value, to identify a target vector of the plurality of candidate vectors. A target image, representative of the target vector, is displayed.