  Van der Waals materials can be easily combined in lateral and vertical
heterostructures, providing an outstanding platform to engineer elusive quantum
states of matter. However, a critical problem in material science is to
establish tangible links between real materials properties and terms that can
be cooked up on the model Hamiltonian level to realize different exotic
phenomena. Our review aims to do precisely this: we first discuss, in a way
accessible to the materials community, what ingredients need to be included in
the hybrid quantum materials recipe, and second, we elaborate on the specific
materials that would possess the necessary qualities. We will review the
well-established procedures for realizing 2D topological superconductors,
quantum spin-liquids and flat bands systems, emphasizing the connection between
well-known model Hamiltonians and real compounds. We will use the most recent
experimental results to illustrate the power of the designer approach.
