In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(25)H(20)N(4), the triazinyl ring is nearly coplanar with the planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.028 Å) phenyl-ethenyl unit, the twist being only 5.8 (2)°; however, the planar carbazolyl unit (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å) is twisted by 47.8 (1)° with respect to the phenyl-ethenyl unit. The nonplanar nature of the mol-ecule explains the phenomenon of light emission at short wavelengths in the solid state but at long wavelengths in solution.