A novel structure map was developed for metal-rich pnictides and chalcogenides M2Q, with M being an element of groups 3 – 5, and Q of groups 15 – 16. To date, this family exhibits eleven different structure types, which are separated in well-defined domains in this structure map. The map comprises a combination of atomic factors as the abscissa, namely principal quantum numbers, valence-electrons, and radii, and a structural factor as the ordinate, which is the averaged coordination number of the Q atoms. We demonstrate in this contribution how this new map can be and has been used to predict crystal structures of new materials from atoms up. First attempts to expand this concept towards different stoichiometries are described.