A system and a method are disclosed for developing a query. The system includes a display device for displaying elements, such as images, textures, color palettes, ad textual elements, which are selectable as query elements for forming a query. A physical space is provided on the display in which a physical object can be positioned. At least one physical object is positioned in the physical space, which is recognized by the system as having an identifier stored in memory to which a query can be linked. A sensor is provided for detecting a physical manipulation of the physical object in the physical space which represents absorbing a query element into a query. A query generator generates a query based on the absorbed query element. The query is thus associated in memory with the identifier for the recognized object. In this way, several physical objects can be manipulated on the display device, each one corresponding to a respective, single query.