Well, you’re going to do a trend analysis, probably geared toward your market. You do a little mood board for each CMF variant. Stuff like Bengt’s tumblr: http://benbentobox.tumblr.com/. Pantone does them too. When I visited Whirlpool one time, I saw them creating boards like that.
More just from searching “CMF” on Behance:
Behance
Behance
Create some renderings showing what the product will look like with the refreshed CMF and how it fits with each mood board. Get a LOT of material samples, and work with your manufacturer to get it “just right.” Document the whole process showing how you carried your research all the way through to final execution.