Come learn why design is king at MobileBeat 2012

Tomorrow VentureBeat will kick off our fifth annual MobileBeat conference, where we’ll be focusing heavily on the theme “design is the new battleground.”

We’re not just talking about pretty apps — we’ll be exploring design from all angles, from the services powering the explosion of mobile devices, to the innovative techniques developers are using to make their apps useful and addictive.

Why the spotlight on design? Across all of our MobileBeat conferences, as well as our Mobile Summit events, we’ve intensely charted the maturation of the post-iPhone mobile industry. The mobile platform wars of yesteryear have plateaued, with the iPhone leading in revenue, and Android leading in market share. Tablets are no longer the hot new thing (except for Microsoft’s upcoming Surface). Now that developers and consumers are familiar with what works for mobile, the focus is now shifting to crafting killer mobile experiences. And in the end, that’s all about design. (Be sure to check out VentureBeat Editor-in-Chief Matt Marshall’s post on how design can make or break your company.)

Come learn how user interface and user experience design is reshaping mobile. This year at MobileBeat, we have 103 speakers ready to share their insights, including big names like Google’s Jason Spero, Path’s Dave Morin, fuseproject founder and designer Yves Behar, and Zynga’s Mark Pincus. Check out the full list of speakers here.

We’ve only got a few tickets left for the event, which is being held on July 10th and 11th at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Grab your tickets here before they run out! Mobilebeat 2012 is also co-located with GamesBeat 2012 this year, where we’ll be exploring the crossover era of gaming.

Within our broader design theme, we’ll also be exploring six sub-themes at MobileBeat 2012:

1. Tablet: Tabula Rasa “The Tablet Reset”
The tablet’s time is now. Learn why your business is lost if you can’t create a compelling tablet strategy.

2. IT: Consumerization
“Enterprise Grade” is no longer an excuse for subpar design. With the consumerization of IT deepening, you must take control of UI/UX to survive and retain key employees. At the same time, you can’t lose sight of things like security, scalability and rock-solid reliability.

3. Infrastructure/Cloud: Scale is Beauty
Elegant networks and cloud systems are based in good strong design ethics. We’ll explore principles to help you avoid inevitable system failure.

4. Monetization
Monetization is all about UI/UX, end of story. 5 reasons why cleaning up UI/UX will boost everything from advertising, to click-throughs, and more.

5. Retail: Wait, Why Are They Coming?
How do you cope in a world where a mobile device can show customers better offers and then walk them right out of your store? If you can’t capture customers or their device with a good experience, you will lose their pocket books.

6. Designing Distribution
If you’re a hot consumer app, content site, or retailer, you crave viral growth and reach. But the tricks of distribution and engagement are inextricably rooted in UI/UX. As Facebook, Twitter and smaller players like Hipmunk have shown, everything flows from design. Strive, conquer, and win by creating best practices around both UI and UX.

We want to thank the industry leaders that are supporting MobileBeat 2012: W3i as Platinum Sponsor; Box as Corporate Sponsor; Flurry, Tapjoy & YouWeb as Gold Sponsors; Animoca, Greystripe, Nokia Developer, LifeStreet Media, Ludei & Sequoia Capital as Silver Sponsors; Game Insight, Apsalar, PayOne, Kontagent, GREE, Nexage, Pontiflex, Swrve, Urban Airship, PayPal, Betable, Xyologic, and Tandem as Event Sponsors; and MyPref, Scandit, LeadBolt & PubNub as Contributing Sponsors.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible — visually and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, taking place July 10-11 in San Francisco, is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.