Hi,
It was brought to my attention that some people did not notice in the
ESC and Design meeting minutes that the graphics for the splash,
startcenter, and the about dialog will update for 5.0, so let me write
some details.
The process is ongoing for several weeks now, the overall design will be
based on
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=90452#c45
and on ideas got from the contest (mostly Jun Nogata's splash - but it
is not taken verbatim):
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Design/Whiteboards/5.0_Branding
The final look is driven by a visual identity group that has
representatives from Marketing, Design, and the TDF board.
The hope is that the next RC will contain at least some of the work, and
that all of you (and all our users) will like it 
All the best,
Kendy