I dislike splash screens, especially the one in Photo & Graphic Designer 18.
Today I decide to switch it and now I am greeted with "Dax" from Deep Space nine.
How?
Easy (First make a backup copy of the original dll file then create your new 550x387px bitmap image)
Download and open Resourse Hacker.
Open C:\Program Files\Xara\Xara Photo Graphic Designer\18..
Scroll down to XaraXEng.dll and double click.
Double click Bitmaps
Scroll down to 6531:2057 and right click choosing replace bitmap.
Do the same with 6532 and 6554. then save and close.
If all goes well your new splash screen will appear.