The ColourFutures^TM team predicts colour in two ways - Colour Families and key Lifestyle Themes.

The Colour Families are a collection of colours that fit into the same hue, for example a collection of reds. The ColourFutures^TM team predicts colours for 8 hues - reds, oranges, yellows, warm neutrals, greens, blues, violets and cool neutrals.

The Colour Families form the building blocks of the key Lifestyle Themes. A Theme is a colour collection that draws on colours from several of the Families that work together to reflect trends in style. The ColourFutures^TM team predicts 5 key themes for 2008.

75 colours have been used to form what the ColourFutures^TM team considers to be the five main lifestyle trends for 2008. The colour of the year appears in more than one theme.